For Georgetown students, the start of a new school year means another chance to climb back up the ranks of basketball success. After a record-setting 2023-24 season, last year’s Georgetown women’s basketball failed to build off its momentum. Their 12-19 record (4-14 in the BIG EAST) fell short of the 19-10 push that brought them to their first appearance in the BIG EAST Tournament Final against the University of Connecticut in 2024.
This year, the team looks to turn its fortunes around under a returning coaching staff led by Darnell Haney. Offseason moves brought in eight new players with promising offensive power, while homegrown talent should shore up the team’s defensive abilities.
“Our goal is to make the NCAA tournament,” Haney told the Voice in an interview. “I think we have a team that can finish in the top half of the league.”
Haney first stepped into the head coach role as an interim following the 2023 passing of Tasha Butts. While he initially found unprecedented success, his first full season in charge did not play out as favorably. Now, following the graduation of six veteran players, he has an opportunity to start with a blank slate of players, most of whom have not known another Georgetown coach.
Despite the Hoyas’ losing season, several players exceeded expectations last year. Graduate guard Kelsey Ransom, who spent all five years of her eligibility playing for the Hoyas, surpassed her impressive stats from 2023-24. She notched a career high 632 points last season, averaging 20.4 points per game (PPG), supplemented by 65 steals and 118 assists. She led the team in all four of these categories.
Also among those moving on is senior center Ariel Jenkins, whose 34 blocks and 25 steals made her a valuable asset under the basket. Her fourth year as a Hoya proved fruitful, as she played a key role in the team’s offense, complementing Ransom’s backcourt play.
Jenkins’s skillset, along with Ransom’s, will be missed. They both topped the individual stats charts for the entire BIG EAST conference: Ransom for points and Jenkins for rebounds. Hopefully, in their wake, multiple players will pick up their mantle.
Of the returners, sophomore guard Khadee Hession and senior guard Victoria Rivera seem best poised to step into Ransom and Jenkins’s shoes. Last season, Hession had 112 total rebounds in 29 games for an average of 3.9 per game. She ranked third in the team’s rebounds, behind Jenkins’s 301 and Ransom’s 190. In an interview with the Voice, Haney expressed hope that Hession would be stepping into leadership both on and off the court.
Rivera, entering her fourth year with the Hoyas, follows closely behind Hession’s rebound and steal counts. She racked up 10.5 PPG last season, marking the continuation of her personal upward trend in points scored. Ideally, in combination with Hession’s rebounding capabilities, Rivera will be able to lead the Hoyas in both second-chance scoring plays and her understanding of Haney’s leadership.
Graduate students Brianna Scott and Chetanna Nweke, who both missed last season due to injury, will hopefully fill out the team’s senior leadership this year, according to Haney. Their returns would contribute to a continuity that’s hard to obtain in the transfer portal era.
To find success, though, new Hoya players will have to contribute to the team’s overall scoring ability. Forward Cristen Carter, a junior transfer from Butler, averaged 5.3 PPG and a total of 133 rebounds. She also had a team-high 20 blocked shots per game as a sophomore, ranking 13th in the BIG EAST for this stat. Georgetown’s two games against Butler last year were among the Hoyas’ closer conference losses; consequently, adding Carter to the roster should help the Hoyas at Butler’s expense.
Twins Indya and Summer Davis, sophomore transfers from the University of Georgia, bring scoring prowess to the roster—and maybe some improved communication through twin telepathy. Graduate student Laila Jewett joins the Hoyas from the University of Central Florida, where she averaged 8.3 PPG alongside 99 assists, and junior transfer Khia Miller brings along her own 8.6 average PPG.
Out of the 11 conference teams, Georgetown ranked ninth in defense against opponent scoring last season. The Hoyas’ defense fell even lower against 3-point attempts, ranking 10th with an opponent 3-point scoring percentage of .338, unusual for Haney’s identity as a defensive coach. While the Hoyas were third in offensive rebounds per game, they came in last in assists. Hoya basketball fans should hope that the starting lineup addresses these shortcomings, focusing on improved defense around the horn, heightened court awareness, and better rebound conversion.
The team’s ability to put points on the board will also prove crucial, as 10 of the Hoyas’ 19 losses last season were decided by at least 10 points. Their four BIG EAST conference wins came against Providence, St. John’s, and Xavier twice (who lost by over twenty points in both instances). These numbers are a far cry from the 2023-24 season’s 9-9 BIG EAST record.
Of the team’s schedule, Haney said, “every BIG EAST game is a big game,” before specifically mentioning UConn, Marquette, and Seton Hall. The Hoyas’ first conference game will be at home against Villanova on Dec. 4. In the seven games before then, Georgetown should prioritize working out the kinks with new team members.
Hession and other new recruits who were not on the roster that made it to the 2024 BIG EAST championship final should be hungry Hoyas. To start, they need to make it past conference rivals, but with the moves the Hoyas made this offseason, there’s a lot to look forward to in the coming months.
