Defense smothers Bethel for 21st win

With the pace-of-play naturally slowing in conference play, 11th-ranked Georgetown continues to show flexibility in its game and took down Bethel, 70-52, with another strong defensive performance.

Teionni McDaniel got the Tigers running with 4 straight to start the game. The defense was stout from the start as Bethel did not score until the 5:21 mark of the quarter. McDaniel then hit a three with 4:13 to go, giving Georgetown a 9-4 lead. McDaniel finished out a low-scoring 1st quarter with a layup in the final seconds, giving the Tigers an 18-9 lead after 1. Georgetown held Bethel to just 4-21 shooting over the first 10 minutes.

An early Jordan Rogers 3 in the 2nd quarter pushed the Tiger lead to 21-9, followed by a Sophie Smith layup at the 8:30 mark. The baskets forced Bethel into a timeout as it fell behind, 23-9. The Wildcats finally got in the scoring column with 7:32 to go. It started a 6-0 run over the next 2 minutes before Teionni McDaniel put Georgetown up 25-15 with 5:40 until halftime. The game went scoreless for nearly 2 more minutes before Bethel converted a 3-point play to get back within 7. Jordan Rogers hit another 3 with 1:08 left to give Georgetown a brief lead of 10. Bethel hit 2 free throws with 35 seconds left to get the score to 31-22, Georgetown at halftime.

The Tigers and Wildcats traded early 3s in the 3rd, which proceeded another 2-plus minute drought on the scoreboard. A Bethel bucket brought the Wildcats within 6 at 33-27 with 6:03 to go. Georgetown then clamped down and held the Wildcats scoreless for the next 2:24, during which Georgetown scored 6 straight to take a 39-27 edge. Trinity Klock then made her presence felt with 2 buckets and 2 free throws over the last 3:19. AJ Stevenson drilled a late 3, but Bethel countered with a half-court 3 at the buzzer, cutting the Tigers' lead to 48-38 heading to the 4th.

Stevenson started the 4th with 2 threes. The second forced Bethel into a timeout, trailing 54-42, with 7:20 left. Bethel hit a 3 with 6:09 to go, cutting the Tiger lead to 56-45. The Wildcats would not put points on the board again until there was 2:33 to go. The Tigers continued to slowly pull away en route to the 18-point win.

Bethel never made more than 6 field goals in any quarter of the game and shot just 32%. The Wildcats also only scored 2 points off 9 forced turnovers, while Georgetown tallied 13 points off 12 Wildcat turnovers.

AJ Stevenson and Trinity Klock both had strong nights. Each finished with 16 points. Klock also grabbed 8 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Teionni McDaniel recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, to go with 4 assists.

Georgetown will next be in action on Saturday, February 17th for Senior Day against Cumberlands. Tip time is set for 1:00pm.