Yet Rodgers, the third-leading scorer in the Big East last year and second leading scorer in Georgetown women’s basketball history, is hungry for more, working a lot on her game this offseason to cement her legendary legacy at Georgetown.
“Offensively, I’ve just been doing some of the same things I was doing last year, just improving on some of the mistakes I made,” Rodgers said. “I worked on basically everything. Better shot selection. I took some bad shots last year, but I worked on that. In the summer I worked on dribbling and my mid-range [jumpshot].”
Last season, Rodgers led the Hoyas in scoring in 25 of 32 games, averaging 18.5 points per game. She was also third on the team in rebounds, second in assists, as well as first in free throw shooting percentage and steals. She was named Big East Player of the Week three times and named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll seven times.
Her stellar play from last season has not gone unnoticed, as the preseason accolades continue to pile up. Rodgers was a selection to the Preseason All-Big East Team, one of only four players to be a unanimous pick. Also, for the third consecutive season, Rodgers is an Associated Press preseason honorable mention All-American as well as a WBCA preseason honorable mention All-American.
Sugar was also named one of 60 candidates for the Senior CLASS award, which is given to seniors with notable achievements in competition, community, character, and the classroom. Sugar is also the first women’s basketball player in Georgetown history to ever earn First-Team All-Big East recognition three times.
Her own personal goals for this year are built on the team’s success.
“You always have those goals in the back of your mind, but my goal is to win and to get farther than last year in the NCAA Tournament,” said Rodgers. “We haven’t been to the Elite Eight, so I would like for us to get there this year. The individual accolades only come with the team’s success. The end goal is to get my degree and hopefully go to the WNBA.”
Last year, the Hoyas were ousted in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Rodgers hasn’t forgotten that, and looks forward to a better performance in the postseason.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t go farther. I wanted to go at least back to the Sweet 16 like we did the year before,” she said. “I’m not going to say satisfied because you can never be satisfied.”
This offseason, former Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy departed the Hilltop to take the head coaching position at Auburn. With former assistant coach Keith Brown, who recruited Rodgers as a McDonald’s All-American, filling in, the senior does not expect much to change and has high hopes for her and her teammates this year.
“We have very high expectations for this year, especially with Coach Keith,” Rodgers said. “We have the same defensive principles. We are a defensive team. Offensively, we are going to push the ball in transition and try and get some easy transition buckets… Coach’s expectations are high but he is a loving and caring coach. He’s a big teddy bear.”
That sustained postseason success has made anything less an unbearable thought for Rodgers and her fellow seniors. Having that postseason success may be a little harder to attain this year, especially with an inexperienced roster after the Hoyas lost seven players to graduation. Rodgers, as the most experienced player on the team, has taken become an active leader for the team in her role as captain.
“We talk [to the younger players] in their ear a lot,” Rodgers said. “They have to be able to come off the bench and make plays. The people who didn’t play last year now have an opportunity so they have to be hungry and ready to play.”
Rodgers and the Hoyas are eager to start the season. Although they may be inexperienced, they can’t wait to get out on the court and prove themselves.
“I’m pretty excited, the team’s pretty excited,” she said. “We’re ready for the season.”
