This year the Georgetown women’s basketball team stands poised to build on last season. While Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy led the Hoyas to a 12-16 overall record, 7-9 in the Big East, and a sixth place finish in the conference during her first year on the Hilltop, the team aims for bigger strides forward this season.
“I thought last year went pretty well especially by midseason and towards the end of the season,” Williams-Flournoy commented. “But we need to be a better scoring team, and rebounding is huge for us this year.”
Georgetown is ranked No. 11 in the Big East Preseason poll of the league’s 16 coaches. However, the team isn’t too concerned with others’ predictions. After all, this was the same preseason ranking they received last season before they proved it wrong by finishing sixth.
“Just considering the amount of attention we’ve been getting, it wasn’t surprising being ranked No. 11,” sophomore forward Kieraah Marlow said. “We can definitely take that and use it as a motivating force.”
The Hoyas will need some type of motivation to face this season’s tough schedule. Twelve of the Hoyas’ opponents played in the postseason last year. Four are ranked in the Associated Press top-25: No. 5 Rutgers, No. 9 Connecticut, No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 18 DePaul.
The addition of five new teams to the Big East this season steps up the challenge in Georgetown’s schedule. These teams increase the competitiveness and depth of an already difficult conference. The Hoyas will now play Cincinnati (twice), DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida.
“The Big East itself was tough,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Bringing in those additional five teams just makes it tougher.”
The Hoyas have the tools for success in such a tough schedule. They have a combination of old and new components this season, which will give the team a balanced attack.
Two key additions are Williams-Flournoy’s new assistant coaches. Ty Evans and Beth Dickinson both join Assistant Coach Niki Reid at Williams-Flournoy’s side for the 2005-06 season. Evans comes from St. Louis University, where he served as an assistant for three years. He will be spending time working with the Hoyas’ post players. Dickinson brings one year of experience as an assistant at Fordham and will work with the guards.
On the court, the Hoyas return four starters from last year. Among them, senior guard Bethany LeSueur averaged 9.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a game last season. She also led the team with 56 steals. Yet LeSueur returns to lead a relatively young squad.
“It definitely helps, but we’re still very young,” LeSueur said of returning four starters. “I think that’s one of the things I need to focus on this year, just being a leader.”
Junior guard Kate Carlin, who recorded 8.1 points and 2.6 rebounds last year also brings experience to the table for the Hoyas. She paced the team in three-pointers with 41. Sophomore guard Kristin Heidloff is a dangerous threat from behind the arch, connecting on 41 percent of her attempts in her first year on the college court. She also dropped 84 assists and racked up 40 steals.
Another key returning player is Marlow who broke out onto the scene as a first-year last season. Starting in all 28 games, Marlow led the team with 12.5 points and 8.6 rebounds a game. Marlow’s stats earned her a slot on the Big East All-Freshman Team. This season Marlow is ready to go out and do her thing.
“I’m trying to lead my team in every aspect that I can and just make sure I play 100 percent every time I’m on the floor,” Marlow said.
The Hoyas also have a new face on campus in first-year forward Katrina Wheeler, a native of Washington, D.C. As a McDonald’s All-American, Wheeler amassed more than 1000 points and 1000 rebounds in her career at Theodore Roosevelt High School. The local star earned Washington Post All-Metro honors, was also a USA Today Preseason Super 25 prep player as a senior and part of the bronze medal-winning USA Developmental Festival East Squad in 2004. Wheeler, however, prefers to focus more on herself as part of the Hoyas’ team than on the numerous accolades she has won in the past.
“There are expectations just because I am a McDonald’s All-American,” Wheeler said. “But here there’s not just one player out there.”
Senior guard Leslie Tyburski, senior center Christine Whitt and first-year guard Nikki Bozeman round out the Georgetown team, which will only suit up eight women this year. Sophomore guard Brina Pollack, a transfer from Purdue, will have to wait to play until the 2006-07 season.
The Hoya women will see their first action Sunday, Nov. 20, when they travel to non-conference opponent Savannah State.
