Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flourney was smiling for the first time after a game against Marquette.
Using a stifling defense in the first half, No. 19 Georgetown jumped out to a 14-point lead and was on its way to a 67-39 win Tuesday night. It was the first ever win for the Hoyas against Marquette.
''It's wonderful,'' Williams-Flourney said. ''We have seven seniors that have never beat Marquette.''
The key was an aggressive defense that Williams-Flourney and Georgetown star Sugar Rodgers said was the focus for the team.
Georgetown forced 29 turnovers and had 22 steals in the game. Marquette hit only 12 of 44 shots, including just 6 of 23 3-pointers.
''It all starts with defense for us,'' said Rodgers, who led Georgetown with 18 points. ''We've been focusing on defense in practice and it really paid off for us tonight.''
Georgetown (15-4, 4-2) won its second straight Big East game since it was drubbed 80-60 by second-ranked Notre Dame Jan. 10.
The loss snapped Marquette's (12-7, 3-3) three-game Big East winning streak. Overall, the Golden Eagles had won seven of their last eight games. Sarina Simmons led Marquette with 11 points.
Marquette coach Terri Mitchell said Georgetown's aggressive defense ''got us back on our heels.''
''It was contagious,'' she said. ''We played right into Georgetown's hands. It really taught us a lot. Lesson learned and now we have to move on to Providence.''
Georgetown used an aggressive half-court trap to take control of the game right from the start. The Hoyas jumped out to a 20-6 lead when McBride scored on a layup with 10:14 remaining.
The Hoyas forced 11 Marquette turnovers and had 10 steals in the first 13 minutes of the game. The Golden Eagles only made three of their first 13 shots.
Georgetown extended the lead to 35-17 at halftime as Alexa Roche scored on a rebound with 1 second remaining. Marquette had 15 turnovers in the first half.
Marquette could get no closer than 16 points in the second half.
Rodgers, who leads the Big East in scoring at 19.9 points per game, scored 10 points, including two long 3-pointers, in the first 10 minutes of the second half to help put the game away.
