After a thrilling 55-54 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats (5-2, Big 10) to close out the Challenge in Music City tournament in Nashville, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (3-3, Big East) is set to take on the Florida International University Panthers (2-4, Conference USA) at McDonough Arena this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Head coach James Howard and the Hoyas will look to stay undefeated at home against a team that hasn’t won more than 5 games in a single year since the 2013-14 season.
In Georgetown’s last game in Nashville, freshman forward Tatiana Thompson hit a clutch free throw with 0.5 seconds remaining to lift the Hoyas over the Wildcats. It was only Northwestern’s second loss of the season and a promising end to an otherwise disappointing tournament for the Blue and Gray. Against Florida International, Georgetown will continue to rely on the combined offensive firepower of junior guard Dionna White and senior guard Mikayla Venson, who together are averaging 28.7 points per game. On defense, senior forward Cynthia Petke chips in with 11 rebounds per game as the Hoyas have yet to allow a single opponent to score more than 65 points. Venson, who also averages 3.2 rebounds per game, was recently named to the all-tournament team for her performance in Nashville.
Florida International, for their part, are coming off a 77-70 win against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers (2-3, Big South), a game in which five Panthers scored in double digits. Junior guard Kristian Hudson leads the offense with 16.2 points and 2.3 assists per game while junior forward Kiandre’a Pound and freshman forward Shante Walker contribute a combined 15.8 rebounds per game. Against the Buccaneers, however, Pound actually led the Panthers in scoring, so the Hoyas will have to watch out for Florida International’s varied attack.
To beat Florida International and regain a winning record, Georgetown must improve its shooting accuracy while continuing to force turnovers to disrupt the Panthers’ rhythm on offense.
