AJ Stevenson joins 1000-point club in win

AJ Stevenson became the newest member of the 1000-point club in the history of Georgetown Women's Basketball on Wednesday. The senior scored 20 off the bench as Georgetown took care of Midway, 78-58, to improve to 8-1 on the season.

Abby Varney and Anna Long got Georgetown going with 2 threes to start the game for an early 6-4 lead over the Eagles. Midway stayed tight through most of the 1st quarter, but Teionni McDaniel scored inside with 2:55 to go for a 14-12 lead. After a Jordan Rogers free throw, McDaniel capped the quarter with a 3 and layup to give the Tigers a 20-15 lead going to the 2nd.

Anna Long extended the lead by 2 to start the 2nd quarter, but Midway came back with an 11-0 run for a 26-22 lead over Georgetown. The Tigers next bucket didn't come until the 5:21 mark and it was a three from AJ Stevenson, her first on the night. 2 buckets from Teionni McDaniel and a jumper from Anna Long pushed Georgetown back up, 31-29 with 3:36 to go until the half. Midway came back for a 34-33 lead with 2:20 to go but would go scoreless the rest of the quarter. Georgetown got free throws from Stevenson and a late 3 from Jordan Rogers for a 38-34 halftime lead.

Georgetown's defense proved the story the rest of the way, starting in the 3rd quarter. The Tigers' first bucket of the 3rd came by way of a steal and score by Callie Jackson. Anna Long hit a 3 for a 43-38 lead, which was followed by a Sophie Smith steal and 2 free throws. Midway's next possession ended in a Jordan Rogers steal, leading to a bucket for Jackson. It was part of a run that saw Midway turn the ball over 5 times in 7 possessions. The capper ended in another jumper from Long to give Georgetown a 49-38 lead nearing the midpoint of the quarter. Long followed with a 3 to push the lead to 52-40 at the midway point. In total, the Eagles coughed the ball up 9 times in the 3rd and despite the Tigers shooting just 35% in the 3rd, the lead stood at 56-46 going to the 4th.

After a quiet night, AJ Stevenson came roaring to life in the 4th. She started the quarter and knocked down a 3 just 8 seconds in. After a missed Midway basket, Stevenson drilled another from distance for 62-46 Georgetown edge. With 8:25 to go, Stevenson took her talents inside to score for a personal 8-0 run to start the 4th. Midway got a bucket back at 7:54 to get within 64-48, but the game then slowed as neither team scored a point for 2 minutes. On this night, it was no surprise that Stevenson would end that drought with another 3 to push the lead to 19 and send Midway to a timeout. After another Midway turnover, Stevenson connected from the midrange. A Jordan Rogers 3 moments later capped an 18-4 run to start the quarter as Georgetown had a 74-50 lead with 4:11 to go, which put the game on ice.

In total, AJ Stevenson scored 15 of her game-high 20 points in the 4th in surpassing the 1000-point mark in her excellent career. Teionni McDaniel did most of her damage early and finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Anna Long was strong on both ends as she ended with 15 points and 5 steals. Jordan Rogers tallied 11 points and 4 steals off the bench.

Despite only having 7 players available and being outrebounded by 20, Georgetown cruised to the win thanks to a suffocating defense that recorded 17 steals and forced 24 total turnovers. It led to the Tigers having a 27-5 edge in points off turnovers as Midway only forced 6 Georgetown turnovers. Georgetown also had a decided advantage from deep, knocking down 11 threes on the night compared to only 4 for Midway.

The Tigers return home on Saturday afternoon to take on Ohio Christian. Tip time at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym is set for 1:00pm.