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Following 40 minutes of play, the University of Cincinnati women’s basketball team proved they were able to keep up with the No. 15 team in the country, and were just mere points away from proving they were better.

The No. 17/15 Georgetown Hoyas defeated the Bearcats 65-54 Saturday at Fifth Third Arena, but UC head coach Jamelle Elliott thought her team could have captured the victory if it was at the top of its game.

“Georgetown probably didn’t come out and play their best basketball,” Elliott said. “When a team that’s ranked in the country doesn’t come out and play their best basketball, and we’re still playing hard, but we’re not upping our level. It’s still going to be hard to beat a bunch of teams. Today, we really didn’t up our level enough to give ourselves the best chance to beat a very good Georgetown team.”

Turnovers proved to be the deciding factor in the game, as the Bearcats had 24 for the game, which the Hoyas turned into an easy 24 points.

“Looks like the difference in the game was that we turned the ball over 24 times,” Elliott said. “They pressured us for 40 minutes. [Dayeesha Hollins] had nine turnovers, which is uncharacteristic for her.”

Despite her turnover issues, Hollins netted a team-high 17 points for the Bearcats, as did senior guard Bjonee Reaves.

“[Georgetown] is a good team, but they aren’t as physical as other teams that we have played,” Elliott said. “They were the most aggressive trapping team that we have seen all year, but it is a learning experience for us.”

Cincinnati got off to a slow start; and, 12 minutes into the first half, the Bearcats found themselves in a 26-11 hole. Despite UC’s slow start, the Cats finished the half strong by going on a 14-3 run to cut the defecit to 29-25 at the half.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the hot streak didn’t continue into the second half, and at the final 11 minute mark of the game, the Hoyas had ran out to a 42-31 lead.

For the second time, however, Cincinnati managed to sneak back in the game and come within four points of Georgetown, trailing just 45-41 with six minutes remaining.

The Bearcats were unable to finish down the stretch, however, as the Hoyas finished the game out-scoring Cincinnati 20-13 to end the Bearcats’ two-game Big East winning streak.

“Everybody talks about hanging around with the No. 15 team in the country,” Elliott said. “I can’t wait until we get to the point where not only do we hang around, but we make better decisions so that we can win these games.”

The Bearcats return to action at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Providence in Providence, R.I.