Box score | Season stats

WASHINGTON, D.C. --  A cold start hurt SBU on the road at Division I Georgetown, as the Bearcats were defeated 82-41 by the Hoyas. Courtney Heady led the Bearcats with 14 points while Jasmine Sanford had 10 points and three steals. Sanford and Mia Gilreath led with five rebounds each.

"Our girls really competed and played with confidence, once we got over the first stretch," said SBU head coach J.C. Carter. "Georgetown is a long, athletic team who will go onto a lot of success. There's no way to simulate that caliber of player in practice. Our conference has several Division I transfers and quality junior college players and this game will help prepare us for them. We need to learn from past experiences and move forward."

The Bearcats trailed 44-16 at halftime. After trailing 3-2 early, SBU went nine minutes without scoring while the Hoyas scored 17 points during that stretch. A three by Heady made it 20-5 with 9:50 left and later a trey from Gilreath made it 25-13, but that was as close as the 'Cats would get. SBU shot 32% in the first half and was forced into 20 turnovers by the smothering GU defense.

Things improved for the Bearcats in the second half, with the Hoyas outscoring the Bearcats 38-25. Though the 'Cats only made nine shots in the final frame, seven were from long distance. SBU made eleven treys during the game. Carter was also pleased by the Bearcats' 15 offensive rebounds. "We did a better job of boxing out," he said. "We still need to work on rotation and communication while guarding the post. I was happy to see we forced 19 turnovers during the game."

The Hoyas (8-2), who received four votes in this week's USA TODAY/ESPN WBCA Division I coaches poll, were led in scoring by Jaleesa Butler with 17 points. The Hoyas put five players in double figures and shot 48% from the field. Georgetown held the Bearcats to 28% shooting for the game. The Hoyas won their seventh straight game, including their previous four games (against D-I opponents) prior to Tuesday by an average of nearly 27 points.

SBU (1-6, 0-1 MIAA) returns home to host Pittsburg State on Saturday evening. The first MIAA home game for SBU begins at 5:30 p.m.