Advancing to the Sweet 16 and narrowly falling to the most storied program in women’s basketball might have been satisfactory for any other program that had qualified for the NCAA tournament just twice in its history.
But for a Georgetown squad that returns 12 Hoyas to the hardwood this winter, including two-time All-American junior guard Sugar Rodgers, this year’s end goal is something slightly sweeter.
“I’m just hungry to win. … This year we want to go past the Sweet 16. We’ve been there twice, and I’m sick of that,” Rodgers said. “I think this is our year, and I’m going to keep saying that, too.”
If the Blue and Gray’s high hopes are to become reality, however, the experienced squad must find a way to fill the gaping void left by the graduation of floor general Monica McNutt. With seven seniors and three juniors filling out a roster ripe with upperclassmen, Georgetown is far from lacking in veterans who are ready to assume vital leadership positions.
“Although our expectations are high, and everyone out there thinks that we are supposed to do extremely well this year, if we don’t have [players] step up and become the leaders that we need them to be — on and off the court — that is something that could affect us in a negative way,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “I think they’ve really understood that, and we’ve had a lot of seniors step up.”
The Hoyas are renowned for their up-tempo, pressure-oriented style of play, forcing opponents into turnovers and capitalizing for quick points. In contrast, the Blue and Gray have been relatively less effective in other areas, such as rebounding. With many key pieces returning to a group which is expected to earn its third consecutive NCAA tournament berth, not a great deal of change is expected with respect to team strengths and weaknesses.
“We put in a different press, just something to add a little more aggravation to teams, but we just want to continue to do the things we do well — running in transition, pressure defense,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Of course, we probably need to rebound better, but that’s really nothing to practice upon, we just keep emphasizing it and hope that one day it will happen.”
Rodgers led last year’s team in scoring with 18.7 points per game, which was second-best in the talent-rich Big East. The junior has received national acclaim for her offensive explosiveness and particularly for her sharpshooting. Rodgers shot 34.8 percent from beyond the arc but also showed her versatility by leading the team with 2.6 steals per game.
Supporting Rodgers’ point production will be Magee, who will assume a greater offensive workload in her final season. Traditionally a forward, Magee’s role will potentially be more flexible this season, as the emergence of paint presences such as 6-foot-6 junior center Sydney Wilson and 6-foot-2 junior center Vanessa Moore could allow her to log minutes at guard. Senior forward Adria Crawford, the team’s hard-working hustle player in the post, returns as another key piece of the puzzle.
Senior point guard Rubylee Wright, last season’s team assists leader, is expected to control the flow of the offense and contribute more scoring, while senior guard Alexa Roche is also expected to find herself in a greater supporting role in her senior season.
Three freshmen, including dangerous guard Taylor Brown, join the Georgetown ranks this year and will be expected to discover and develop their roles on the team throughout the course of the season as they adjust to the college game.
“[We’ve emphasized] technique, a lot of technique. … We’re a very disciplined team,” Roche said. “On defense there are very specific positions, no gray areas, making sure that for freshmen [schemes] are fresh in everybody’s mind, so when we come to the game we don’t have any errors. And if we do have any errors, we know exactly how to fix them.”
As usual, the Hoyas have a rigorous nonconference schedule before entering the gauntlet of Big East play. The second game of the season pits the Blue and Gray against local rival Maryland, whom Georgetown defeated in the second round of the NCAA tournament last spring. The Hoyas’ nonconference slate includes a healthy array of matchups with foes from the 2011 NCAA tournament field, including a visit to LSU, a home date with Miami (Fla.) and a meeting with Georgia in Las Vegas.
“Our nonconference schedule is unbelievable. It’s extremely tough. I should fire the person who put it together,” Williams-Flournoy joked. “But I hope it’s a schedule that gets us ready to compete in the Big East.”
The Hoyas will debut Nov. 11 when they take on Longwood at McDonough Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
