(RV) Crusaders Hand No. 23 Tigers First Loss of the Season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The No. 23 Georgetown College women's basketball team (13-1) took its first loss of the season, 68-61, to (RV) William Carey (10-0) to open the Daytona Beach Shootout on Tuesday afternoon.  

HOW IT HAPPENED
The offense was once again ignited by Kayra Freeman as the senior sank a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Georgetown. The offense was halted for much of the opening five minutes, though, as another 3-pointer, this one from Daisy Gale, was the only offense for the Tigers, who trailed by two, 8-6, at the media timeout. Gale sank another 3-pointer out of the timeout to give Georgetown its first lead of the day. A 12-4 closed things for the Crusaders in the quarter, who commanded a 20-13 lead after the first. The seven-point deficit is the largest deficit Georgetown has faced after the opening 10 minutes this season.

The Tigers fell behind early in the second quarter and played catch-up the rest of the way. Anna Long's layup at the 5:01 mark pulled it back to a 27-17 game. Her basket sparked a 5-0 run to cut it to a 27-20 game with just over three minutes to play in the half. After trading baskets down the stretch, Kayra Freeman scored four of her six second-quarter points in a bunch. With 26 seconds to play in the half, the senior sank a pair of foul shots and then hustled down the floor to beat the buzzer for the second time in as many games before halftime with a tough layup. Georgetown trailed 37-31 at the break.

The third quarter saw the Tigers play with fight and aggression. Georgetown outscored William Carey by five in the frame as Freeman and Daysha Reid both tallied seven points to make it a one-point game (54-53) heading into the fourth. The Tigers took a short lead when Reid hit the final layup of the third before the Crusaders hit a jumper with seven seconds left.

Both sides hit shots to start the fourth, and it remained a one-possession game, with the Tigers trailing 60-59 at the media timeout. Georgetown's offense went cold, though, as the final five minutes saw William Carey outscore the Tigers 8-2. William Carey hung on for the 68-61 victory.

THE TEAM 
Georgetown shot 34.9% from the field. The Tigers were 7-20 (45.7%) from deep and were 10-12 (83.3%) at the free-throw line. WC outrebounded GC, 40-37. The Crusaders led in assists, 16-10, while WC had 7 blocks. GC had 11 steals while the Crusaders created seven.

THE PLAYERS
* Kayra Freeman finished with a game-high 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals.
* Daisy Gale had 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds with two assists.
* Anna Long added 10 points and two assists.

UP NEXT
The Tigers close up the Daytona Beach Shootout on Thursday against Central Methodist (7-5).

Tip-off with the Eagles is set for 1:00 p.m.