The Georgetown women’s basketball team, ranked 11th in the Big East according to the Preseason Coaches’ Poll, is counting down the hours until the opening game of the 2008-2009 season. The women will travel to Jacksonville, Alabama this Sunday to take on Jacksonville State and test the abilities of the young Hoyas squad, and the team is anxious to get into competitive play.
The women have spent the last month of preseason training, scrimmaging, and prepping for another year of Big East play. And, quite frankly, they’ve had enough.
“I think they are tired of playing each other,” head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.
Williams-Flournoy, now in her fifth season as head coach, has expanded the team’s roster to 15 players this season compared to last year’s 12. All of the players, even the seven incoming freshmen, will be expected to make their mark.
The freshman class is the best the program has seen in years and was ranked 6th nationally by Mike Flynn’s Blue Star Report and 18th nationally by hoopgurlz.com.
“All seven freshmen came from winning programs, whether it was their high school team or their AAU team,” Williams-Flournoy said. “They do have a little bit more of an air about themselves and a winning attitude and winning dominance because that is all they know. I’ve noticed that about them. They are winners, they want to win. They know how to win.”
Freshmen Ruby Lee Wright, Adria Crawford and Morgan Williams will reinforce the Hoya backcourt. Wright and Williams will vie for time at point guard, while the 6’ Crawford may convert to a forward at some point this season.
The remaining freshmen, Latia Magee, Tia McBride, Amanda Reese, and Alexa Roche, who are all 6’ or taller will compete for time in the post. Reese in particular has big shoes to fill after the graduation of 6’ 5” center Aminata Diop.
All three of the team’s seniors, forward Krystal Hatton and guards Karee Houlette and Beata Widding, transferred to the Hilltop. Houlette is the team’s best three-point shooter, dropping an impressive 42.9 percent from behind the arc last season, her first at Georgetown.
“I think it is very hard for our seniors,” Williams-Fournoy said. They are seniors by letter, but they are really not seniors. They are stepping in with the rest of the upperclassmen in trying to be the leaders that we need them to be.”
Widding, who suffered an ankle injury last year that sidelined her for most of the season, will be playing virtually her first year with the team this season. But Williams-Flournoy indicated that Beata has shown intense dedication and hard work in practice, displaying no lag from recovery.
The four juniors will bear the brunt of leadership this season. Guards Meredith Cox and Shanice Fuller are both returning starters. Cox currently leads the team in three pointers with 41, and Fuller is the second highest returning scorer averaging 5.9 points per game.
“[Meredith] and Shai have definitely stepped up to be leaders on the team, as they should be,” Williams-Fournoy said. “They are two juniors who have played more minutes than most of the big kids on the team.”
Kenya Kirkland, also a junior guard and strong defender, has started in 14 games in her career at Georgetown.
The final junior, forward Jaleesa Butler, a determined, agile, and aggressive player, is the team’s leading returning scorer, averaging 7.6 points per game. She has played in every game in which the Hoyas have competed during her past two years on the squad.
While the team may be young, the women have a very positive outlook going into the season. For Flournoy-Williams, each game represents a learning opportunity for the team and she expects them to improve throughout the season.
“Jacksonville State is a good team,” she said. “They are athletic. They are quick. They are a good team for us to start off with and open up with. And playing away from home-it takes our young kids away and teaches them how to win on the road right away.”
Without a single returning player who averaged double-digit scoring last year, the team is in desperate need of someone to pick up the reins offensively. While that seems like a handicap on the eve of another tough season, it is for Flournoy-Williams just another opportunity for her young team to shine.
“I’m not going to say any one particular person will, or needs, to lead us in scoring,” she said. “I think together as a group, we are going to have different people step up in different games.”
