It had been two years since I’d attended a Georgetown women’s basketball game. Back during the 2005-2006 season, I watched every game from the press table as I covered the team for these pages. That year, after a back-and-forth start in the win and loss columns, the losses came in bunches in a 3-13 conference campaign.
To be honest, those articles were some of the toughest to write. I failed to find new ways to describe a loss. I could have saved time by taking my old articles and simply changing the score and the opponent’s name. It seemed like every game included a halftime deficit followed by an inspired Hoya run in the second half that usually failed to sustain itself. Writing about losing is a lot like losing itself: it just makes you dwell on it more.
This past Saturday I found myself back in McDonough for my first game in two years, but this time, I was there as a fan. Somehow I walked into the Hoyas’ first win over a ranked opponent in over four years. Georgetown beat the No. 22 Syracuse Orange 78-71. The Hoyas’ perfect execution kept them in the lead for the majority of the game. They straight up outplayed Syracuse in every way. Each effort put forth by ‘Cuse in the second half to take over the game in the 2nd half was met by a stronger response by Georgetown.
I had the win I always wanted to write about, but I was no longer in my seat with the rest of the press. Then I was asked to write this column, and there was no question in my mind what I would write about.
This was not the team that I remembered. That team would have found a way to blow the game. This one simply refused to let that happen. They scortched the nets in the second half, shooting 58 percent and hitting six of nine three pointers. It even seemed better than that; I honestly don’t remember them missing.
Four Hoyas notched double-digit scoring outputs, with senior forward Kieraah Marlow leading all scorers with 19. Marlow is one of a few players that I remember from that team two years ago, but the squad is now full of new faces and exciting players. Six-foot-five senior Aminata Diop adds to the paint presence Georgetown has in Marlow. And several young players will be instrumental in the improvement of the team. Sophomores Shanice Fuller and Meredith Cox and freshman Monica McNutt led the Hoyas’ shooting attack, putting on a show from behind the arc. This team’s performance on Saturday really impressed me.
The biggest problem for the Lady Hoyas is the one thing that has not changed since I covered them: their fan support. I was one of only a handful of students in attendance who wasn’t a cheerleader or part of the pep band. Once again, the opposing team’s traveling fans rivaled or even out-did the Hoyas’ fans. With every ‘Cuse bucket my ears were assaulted by a resounding “yes!” cheered by a woman sitting two rows behind me. No team can be expected to win in an environment where every game is a virtual away game.
The women’s biggest win in years occurred five days ago, and I bet most students don’t even know about it. The team can win, but they could use fans in the stands to help them. I will be the first to admit that I haven’t been a good fan by being absent from these games for two years. Saturday may have been my first game as a fan, but it won’t be my last.
