Senior forward Jaleesa Butler is enthusiastic about Georgetown women’s basketball’s upcoming season.
“Our nine conference games are extremely hard, but winnable, and we are looking forward to doing that. And the Big East, we are ready for that competition. We’ve got that energy going. We are ready for the fourteenth [of November].”
Butler is not alone in her eagerness to get back on the court. Last season, the team finished with an overall record of 20-14 (7-9 Big East), placing ninth in the Big East Tournament and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament—the furthest postseason stint for the program since its inception.
After an eight-month intermission, the Hoyas are seeking to replicate the results of their successful 2008-2009 season.
“We really want to finish up the way we ended up last year,” head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “Tough aggressive defense, running in transition, and using our athletic ability.”
It won’t be easy. In the Big East Preseason Coaches’ poll, the Hoyas were selected eighth out of 16, a competitive position in a conference that consistently produces tough match-ups.
The team began adjusting their system of play last season, switching to a more fast-paced, quick transition style that gave the team a boost in the final half of the season. During the off-season, the Hoyas switched training methodologies to include more fast sprints with jogging rests, in order to facilitate their newfound up-tempo strategy.
“For us it was kind of like ‘OK, this is what was successful, so let’s do what we’ve got to do to get it done,’” sophomore guard Monica McNutt said. “Training and preseason isn’t necessarily fun, but … that is how we want to play this year, so we make those sacrifices.”
The team replaced three departing seniors with three freshmen, but will return 12 players and four of their five starters from last year. Two of the newcomers, 6-foot-6-inch Sydney Wilson and 6-foot-2-inch Vanessa Moore, will provide the Hoyas with a threat in the paint.
“That was the only thing we were missing this year,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We needed to get more of an inside presence, so bringing in the two post players really helped a lot.”
The third freshman, guard Ta’Shauna ‘’Sugar’’ Rodgers, a nationally-ranked recruit, will help to replace the loss of graduated outside shooter Karee Houlette.
Senior guards Shanice Fuller, Meredith Cox—an impressive three-point shooter—and Kenya Kirkland, an exceptional defender and mentor to Rodgers, round out the Hoyas’ outside game along with sophomores Rubylee Wright and Morgan Williams. Wright saw significant minutes last season as she proved herself to be a forceful driver and a potent outside shooter.
Butler, who experienced a breakout season last year, was the team’s second leading scorer and leader in rebounds per game last season. She will lead an experienced frontcourt of sophomores Adria Crawford, Tia McBride, Amanda Reese, Alexa Roche and Tia Magee.
After an offseason of sprints and running, only one key element must fall into place, according to Williams-Flournoy.
“I keep preaching to them, ‘If we can’t rebound, we can’t run,’” she said. “Everyday, we’re emphasizing that it’s … not the posts’ responsibility. It’s not the guards’ responsibility. It’s team rebounding that is definitely going to get it done.”
The two freshmen centers should help matters on the boards, but Georgetown will need everyone to be fighting for rebounds for its transition attack to succeed. With a team as focused as the Hoyas, getting players to dedicate to crashing the boards shouldn’t be a problem.
“Last season really lit a fire under us,” McNutt said. “We came off that season like ‘Wow, we were X, Y, Z, a win away from making the NCAA tournament, and did well in the Big East.’ This team has come back with so much more intensity and determination. People really need to look out.”
The Hoyas’ season opens on November 14 at Missouri State, with five more games on the road before their home-opener on November 28 against Wofford College. Conference play begins January 2 at Syracuse.
