After stumbling to a 21-9 (9-7 Big East) season record following a promising start, the Georgetown women’s basketball team is preparing to head up to Hartford, Conn. for the Big East Tournament. With a first-round bye, the Hoyas will look to get back on track in their first game at the XL Center on Saturday.
Last season, the then No. 12 Hoyas earned a double-bye after going 13-3 in conference play but suffered an upset loss to Rutgers in their first game, 63-56 in double overtime.
The Hoyas feel that their experience last year will only help their chances heading into the tournament.
“A lot of us were in the tournament last year, so we have a little bit more experience,” senior guard Monica McNutt said. “Hopefully the experience pays off.”
However, experience alone will not lead them to the championship. After losing four of their last five games to close out the regular season, the team realizes the importance of refocusing and doing the little things that lead to winning.
“We are going to challenge ourselves to really focus and to lock in—to execute our defense properly, to run our offense properly, and to cut down on our mistakes that we force on ourselves,” McNutt said.
Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers is looking forward to playing in her second Big East Tournament. And although the team’s leading scorer is satisfied with just being there, she wants to make a impact.
Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is entering her third straight postseason, after not making it since the Big East Tournament in 2005, her first year as head coach. While last year’s record was better than this year’s, Williams-Flournoy doesn’t match up the two seasons and teams against each other.
“I don’t think you can compare seasons to seasons,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We won some big games, we had some bad losses, but we still won 21 games.”
To prepare for the tournament, Williams-Flournoy wants her team to improve on defense.
“I think probably our biggest challenge is we haven’t been doing extremely well on the offensive end, and I think we’ve let our offensive end dictate how we play defense,” she said. “We have to change that mentality and understand that even if our offense may become stagnant at times, we still have to go out and play defense extremely tough.”
The team hopes that in the days off before the tournament starts, they can get things together and peak at the right time. In each of the last two seasons, the Hoyas’ results have improved in the postseason, and they want to continue that trend. Still, Williams-Flournoy’s post-season mentality has not changed.
“I go into every postseason feeling the same,” she said. “A new opportunity, a chance to get more wins, and a chance to continue to advance.”
Last season, the then No. 12 Hoyas earned a double-bye after going 13-3 in conference play but suffered an upset loss to Rutgers in their first game, 63-56 in double overtime.
The Hoyas feel that their experience last year will only help their chances heading into the tournament.
“A lot of us were in the tournament last year, so we have a little bit more experience,” senior guard Monica McNutt said. “Hopefully the experience pays off.”
However, experience alone will not lead them to the championship. After losing four of their last five games to close out the regular season, the team realizes the importance of refocusing and doing the little things that lead to winning.
“We are going to challenge ourselves to really focus and to lock in—to execute our defense properly, to run our offense properly, and to cut down on our mistakes that we force on ourselves,” McNutt said.
Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers is looking forward to playing in her second Big East Tournament. And although the team’s leading scorer is satisfied with just being there, she wants to make a impact.
Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is entering her third straight postseason, after not making it since the Big East Tournament in 2005, her first year as head coach. While last year’s record was better than this year’s, Williams-Flournoy doesn’t match up the two seasons and teams against each other.
“I don’t think you can compare seasons to seasons,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We won some big games, we had some bad losses, but we still won 21 games.”
To prepare for the tournament, Williams-Flournoy wants her team to improve on defense.
“I think probably our biggest challenge is we haven’t been doing extremely well on the offensive end, and I think we’ve let our offensive end dictate how we play defense,” she said. “We have to change that mentality and understand that even if our offense may become stagnant at times, we still have to go out and play defense extremely tough.”
The team hopes that in the days off before the tournament starts, they can get things together and peak at the right time. In each of the last two seasons, the Hoyas’ results have improved in the postseason, and they want to continue that trend. Still, Williams-Flournoy’s post-season mentality has not changed.
“I go into every postseason feeling the same,” she said. “A new opportunity, a chance to get more wins, and a chance to continue to advance.”
