With six returning experienced players and a McDonald’s All-American joining the team, Georgetown women’s basketball looked forward to their 2005-2006 season. With several close games and many big losses, the Hoyas did not meet their expectations as they finished last spring disappointingly with an overall record of 10-17 and a Big East tally of 3-13. Georgetown faced a more competitive conference, which recently expanded, growing to 16 teams.
Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy attributes some of the team’s shortcomings to their small roster; many players put in 38-40 minutes a game.
“You can do that one or two games, but you’re talking about a season of 28 games,” Williams-Flournoy explained. “That takes a toll on your legs. That is a long time to play so many minutes.”
The Hoyas opened the season by winning their first two non-conference games, first against Savannah State 67-59 and then Mount St. Mary’s 68-60. They lost 64-51 to North Dakota at the Ball State Tournament but bounced back the next day to slaughter Lipscomb University 77-45 in the consolation game.
The Hoyas then faced a difficult loss in the Bronx to Fordham. The team had rallied to catch up from a nine-point deficit going into the second half but fell in overtime 68-62. The team fell to both Kentucky, 63-47, and Delaware, 65-43. However, the team ended the year with three straight wins, including a close game against rivals American University, 64-60, and strong wins against Florida Atlantic and Clemson. In fact, the Hoyas entered the new year ready to begin Big East Conference play with a winning record of 7-4.
2006 did not bring good luck for Georgetown, which lost its Big East opener at No. 8 Connecticut. Despite sophomore forward Kierah Marlow’s 20 points, her third straight game scoring double digits, the team went into halftime down 40-16. The Huskies went on to win the game 80-38. The Hoyas also lost their first Big East game at home in McDonough against St. John’s. Despite strong performances from Marlow and senior guard Bethany LeSueur, scoring 15 points and shooting 7-7 at the free throw line respectively, the Hoyas ended the first half with the biggest point deficit of the season, and went on to lose 74-54.
“I don’t think we had a lot of confidence last year,” then-sophomore point guard Kristin Heidloff, who led the team in assists, said. “Once you start losing, it kind of gets stuck in your head. I think sometimes we almost found a way not to win games. We would dig ourselves a hole in the first half and then play the team even in the second half and think we can play, but now we’ve dug such a big hole.”
There was much truth to this statement, as the Hoyas trailed at halftime in all 13 of their Big East losses. In fact, the Hoyas finished the season 9-0 in games in which they led at halftime. Like their two other Big East victories, the Hoyas held a steady lead at halftime when they gained their first conference win against visiting Providence. The Hoyas started the game strong, with Marlow scoring a game-high 25 points and LeSueur netting a career-high 24 points. The rest of the team followed suit, and the Hoyas ended Providence’s five-game winning streak with a 79-67 victory.
The win for the Hoyas did not set a precedent, and they lost their next six games, to Notre Dame and Pittsburgh among others.
“We had a few games where they took it to us, but a lot of games like Notre Dame, Villanova and St. John’s, we were competitive,” then-junior guard Kate Carlin explained the inconsistency.
The Hoyas went on to two consecutive wins, beating Seton Hall at home 64-52 and traveling to beat Syracuse 58-51. These would be the Hoyas’ last victories before finishing the season with five straight losses, including close matchups against DePaul and Marquette, where the Hoyas lost 64-58 and 67-60 respectively. The Hoyas were mathematically eliminated from the Big East Tournament in a 67-50 loss at Villanova, and they finished the season with a 71-57 defeat against South Florida on Senior Night.
The Hoyas graduated three seniors: LeSueur, guard Leslie Tyburski and center Christine Whitt. LeSueur finished her Georgetown career, after transferring sophomore year from UVA, with 800 points, 200 assists and 400 rebounds.
“Beth will be missed,” Marlow said. “She was a great scrappy player.”
The patchy season was not without its high points, though. Heidloff, ranked third in the Big East both in assists and three-point consistency, was named All-Big East second team. She will return to the Hoyas as a junior in the 2006-07 season that begins next weekend against Towson in McDonough Gymnasium, where the Hoyas hope for a strong start to sustain them throughout the season.
