The Georgetown women’s basketball team (15-15, 9-9 Big East) will host Delaware (19-12, 11-7 CAA) in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Friday at 7 p.m. This marks the third straight WNIT big for Georgetown.
The Hoyas are coming off of their first Big East Tournament semifinals appearance in 19 years, in which they lost to 2-seed DePaul (26-7, 15-3 Big East), who went on to win the championship. The Blue Demons beat the Hoyas 85-53, exploiting 6-seed Georgetown’s fatigue from their win over 3-seed Villanova (22-8, 12-6 Big East) in the quarterfinals the night before. The Hoyas were led in the tournament by senior forward Cynthia Petke and junior guard Dionna White. Petke notched 24 points and 11 rebounds against Villanova, and 10 points against DePaul, while White had 20 points against Villanova, and nine against DePaul.
Despite getting off to a rocky start in conference play, the Hoyas were able to win six of their final nine games to will themselves to a .500 record, making them eligible for their third straight postseason. White, who was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and to the all-Big East first team, had led the Hoyas all year with 18.3 points per game. Petke, who was named Big East Most Improved Player, and to the all-Big East Honorable Mention Team, has averaged a double-double with 13.6 points and 10.3 rebounds for the Hoyas. Senior guard Mikayla Venson has also added 13.6 points per game.
The Blue Hens are coming off of an overtime loss to Drexel (28-7, 16-2 CAA) in the semifinals of Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Delaware was led by sophomore forward Samone DeFreese, who notched 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Hens. Sophomore guard Abby Gonzales added 14 points, and junior forward Nicole Enabosi added 11. Enabosi leads the Blue Hens in scoring this season, averaging 18.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, while DeFreese averages 11.4 points and 7.3 board per game.
The Blue Hens are coached by Natasha Adair, who previously coached the Hoyas from 2014-2017. She turned the Hoyas from a four-win team into a 16-win team in one season, and then led the team to 17 wins in her final year. The game will mark Adair’s first return to McDonough since leaving for Delaware after the 2016-17 season.
In their past two postseason bids, the Hoyas have fallen in the first round, first to Rutgers in 2016 and most recently to Fordham in 2017. Head Coach James Howard, who previously served as Associate Head Coach to Adair, will look to break that streak. Follow @GUVoiceSports for game day updates and breaking news.
