Stevenson leads Tigers win streak to 13

AJ Stevenson knocked down 5 threes and scored 23 points as Georgetown kicked off the Mid-South Conference slate with an 82-70 road win over Lindsey Wilson on Thursday night.

The Tigers would have to rally on this night as the Blue Raiders jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before Teionni McDaniel broke through with a layup. Lindsey Wilson countered with 4 more to take a 10-2 lead. McDaniel and Sophie Smith scored on back-to-back trips to cut the margin in half. Kayra Freeman's bucket with 4:43 to play in the quarter brought Georgetown within 2 at 10-8. Lindsey Wilson stretched the margin out and took a 20-15 lead after 1.

The Blue Raider momentum continued with an opening 3-pointer in the 2nd quarter. The Tigers countered with consecutive threes from McDaniel and Smith. An AJ Stevenson layup tied the game at 23 and 2 free throws from Callie Jackson capped a 10-0 run for Georgetown to take the lead. After a Blue Raider tying basket, Sophie Smith hit another 3 that ultimately put the Tigers ahead for good. She would hit another 3 with 2:48 to play for a 33-27 lead. Jordan Rogers then nailed Georgetown's 5th three in 6 tries with 44 seconds to play as the Tigers roared to a 25-11 score in the quarter for a 40-31 lead at halftime.

Lindsey Wilson scored 5 of the first 6 in the 3rd quarter to get within 41-36 with 7:32 to play. Izzy Lamparty got the Tigers' first field goal moments later. AJ Stevenson followed with free throws and a 3 to pad the lead back to 10 at 48-38. With just over 3 minutes to go, Lindsey Wilson charged back within 6. Stevenson and McDaniel pushed the lead back to 10 at 55-45. Moments later, a returning Trinity Klock converted a 3-point play followed by a layup for a 60-47 lead. She knocked down 2 free throws with 33 seconds to go as the Tigers took a 62-52 lead to the 4th.

2 minutes into the 4th, AJ Stevenson knocked down the first of her 4 threes in the quarter to keep the lead at 11. With just over 5 minutes to go, Lindsey Wilson cut the lead down to 7 at 67-60. Out of a timeout, Stevenson nailed another 3 to keep the Blue Raiders at bay. After a LWC bucket, the Tigers turned back to Trinity Klock inside, who delivered another 3-point play for a 73-62 lead with just under 3 minutes to play. The game took a familiar turn. Lindsey Wilson got back within 7 with 2:21 to go and took a timeout. Out of the timeout, AJ Stevenson again drilled a 3. Sophie Smith then came up with a big steal and found Stevenson who delivered again to put Georgetown up 79-66 with 1:32 to go. Smith hit another 3 with 25 seconds to go for good measure in the 12-point win.

In total, AJ Stevenson shot 5-7 from three-point range en route to the 23-point night. As a team, the Tigers shot 57% from downtown (12-21) and 14-16 from the foul line, thus never allowing Lindsey Wilson to threaten down the stretch. In her first game since November 21st, Trinity Klock scored 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench. Their efforts gave Georgetown a 49-8 edge in bench points on the night. Sophie Smith dished out 5 assists to go with 14 points. Teionni McDaniel was solid on both ends again with 13 points and 3 steals.

With Saturday's game at Cumberland postponed, the Tigers will have a week to prepare for Bethel. The tip at Davis-Reid Alumni Gym is set for 5:30pm next Thursday night.