Tigers' Fast Start Grounds Firehawks

The Georgetown College women's basketball team set the tone on the defensive end of the floor from the opening tip-off Saturday afternoon, and that allowed the Tigers to control their Mid-South Conference game against the visiting University of Tennessee Southern Firehawks.

Georgetown (12-5, 5-4 MSC) held the Firehawks without a made field goal in the opening four minutes, and as a result jumped out to a 12-1 lead on their way to the 77-64 win over UT-Southern (10-6, 5-5 MSC).

The Tigers made five of their first seven shots in the opening four minutes, and held the Firehawks to 0-for-5 shooting. Georgetown forced four turnovers as the Tigers built its12-1 lead. After another 8-0 Georgetown run late in the period, the Tigers' lead swelled to 20-6, leading 20-8 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was more evenly matched. UT-Southern made half of its field goal attempts, but Georgetown prevented the Firehawks from making anything from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Tigers made a pair of triples, and five free throws in the period to extend their lead by five at the half, 41-24.

In the second half, the Tigers did what they had to do to keep the lead at a comfortable margin. Georgetown led by as many as 21 points after back-to-back scores to open the third frame, and while they did not extend the lead further, the Tigers never led by fewer than 13 points in the half. UT-Southern made its first 3-point shot just more than three minutes into the second half, but even that could not deter the Tigers.

Five Tigers scored in double-figures, led by Sophie Smith's 17 tallies. Izzy Lamparty added 16 points, Madison Darnell chipped in a dozen along with 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and Jazzmyn Elston and AJ Stevenson each notched 10 points. Darnell also had five assists to lead the Tigers.

Georgetown made 25-of-57 (43.9%) shots in the game, including 9-of-25 (36%) from deep. At the foul line, The Tigers were 18-for-28 (64.3%). The Tigers held the edge on the glass, 33-29, and posted 16 assists to just six for UT-Southern. The biggest scoring breakdown advantage enjoyed by the Tigers came in turning turnovers into points, where Georgetown out-performed UT-Southern 20-5.

Georgetown will make a swing into west Tennessee next weekend, making a pair of tough road trip stops. The Tigers will first battle for third in the MSC standings with Freed-Hardeman University (12-4, 5-4 MSC) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Eastern, then they will finish the trip with a date with the Wildcats of Bethel University (9-8, 3-6 MSC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern.