Rebounding proved to be the difference in the Pirates' 59-41 defeat to the No. 19 Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday.
The Hoyas (17-5, 5-3) out-rebounded the Hall by 14.
"Defensively, we played as well as we could play," head coach Anne Donovan said. "What we didn't do defensively was box out. And those 21 offensive boards broke our back."
From tip-off, Georgetown set the tone after freshman guard Samisha Powell swished back-to-back three pointers.
Freshman guard Jazzmine Johnson and junior guard Jasmine Crew lead the way in the first half, each scoring five points.
Early on, the Pirates (7-14, 0-8) struggled offensively, mainly due to the Hoyas' defense that laid in on the shot clock or denied passes to junior forward Kandice Green posting on the low block.
Halfway through the first half the Pirates came within 10, 17-7.
Hoya guard Sugar Rodgers, the second highest scorer in the Big East and leading rebounder for Georgetown, came back with a three from the right baseline.
With just under seven minutes left to play in the half, sophomore guard Terry Green answered with a three of her own before Johnson would do the same a few possessions later.
Georgetown ended the first half just the way it started, with a three-point basket to extend their lead to 20 points.
The Hall came out of the half by going inside attacking the rim leading to an 8-0 run before Georgetown would answer, making the score 41-27.
The Pirates again got within 10 points with 11:40 to play.
Then Georgetown head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy took out her five starting players because she didn't believe they were playing as hard as they could.
"It will never be accepted," Williams-Flournoy said. "We play hard all the time, no matter what happens...teams aren't going to die. This is the Big East."
When Rodgers only shot 5-17, junior forward Adria Crawford took control, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double.
Overall, Georgetown converted 20 points off of turnovers and 20 points on second chance shots.
Terry Green ended with 11 points, while senior forward Kashmere Joseph pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
"They don't quit," Donovan said. "They're playing hard and fighting back. As long as they're fighting, that shows they have confidence. If they're not confident, they're not continuing to fight. The white flag goes up."
Seton Hall will continue to fight in the Big East when they host Providence at 2 p.m. on Feb. 6 in Walsh Gymnasium.
Krissy Wrobel can be reached at kristine.wrobel@student.shu.edu.
