Smith's dozen dishes deliver 14th win

Sophie Smith returned to the Georgetown starting lineup on Saturday at Asbury and kickstarted an offense that shot 8-12 from 3 in the 1st quarter, en route to 12 assists on the day from Smith and and 81-66 win to close out 2023 for the Tigers.

Smith's 1st assist came on a 3 by Erin Toller that put Georgetown ahead 6-3 in the first. Toller followed with another 3 less than a minute later to extend the Tiger lead and set Toller off on a 23-point day. Smith knocked down the first of her 2 threes to give GC a 15-7 lead with just under 4 minutes to go in the quarter. A minute later, Smith set up Toller for another 3 and the lead grew to 20-7. Smith hit another 3 of her own and again delivered a dime to Toller, giving Georgetown a 26-9 lead late in the 1st. The Tigers led 28-13 after 1.

The Smith-Toller combination hit again early in the 2nd to push the lead to 31-15. Georgetown then began to work inside after the Eagles turned their focus to perimeter defending. The next 12 points in the quarter for Georgetown all came in the paint. Jalynn Landversicht broke the string with a 3-pointer with 34 seconds to go. The Sophie Smith assist gave Georgetown a 48-29 lead before Asbury hit 2 free throws to close out the half with the Tigers enjoying a lead of 17.

Georgetown's offense then hit a cold string in the 3rd quarter, shooting just 6-21 from the floor as Asbury chipped at the lead, trying to pressure the orange & black. An Izzy Lamparty layup with 6:00 to go gave GC a 58-37 lead. The Tigers went scoreless over the next 3:12 while Asbury scored 10 straight to get within 11. 2 late baskets from AJ Stevenson kept the lead in double digits as Georgetown took a 64-53 lead to the 4th.

To start the 4th, the Tigers set out to erase any hope of an Asbury rally. GC scored the first 6 of the quarter to build lead out to 70-53 as Asbury went scoreless for the first 2:56 of the 4th. The Eagles chipped away and got back within 11 at 70-59 with less than 5 minutes to go. Georgetown countered with a 3 from AJ Stevenson and a paint bucket from Callie Jackson to send the lead to 16 with 4:24 left. Both baskets came from Smith as Asbury never got within 13 points again.

Sophie Smith finished with the 12 assists along with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 40 minutes. Erin Toller knocked down 6 threes and finished with 23 points and 5 boards. AJ Stevenson's stellar run since entering the starting lineup continued. She finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jalynn Landversicht also finished with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds, in 27 minutes off the bench. Izzy Lamparty continued her strong two-way play with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Trinity Klock pulled down 9 boards and Callie Jackson added 6 points, 4 rebounds in 12 minutes. In total, the Tigers finished with 24 assists on 32 made baskets. GC also dominated the glass, finishing with a 53-29 advantage.

Georgetown will kickoff the 2024 calendar year with its final non-conference game of the season at Wilberforce on January 4th. Tip time is set for 5:30pm.