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Freshman guard Latia Magee pulls up for a jumper in the Hoyas’ 65-49 victory over Richmond in the third round of the WNIT.

With the last of former Head Coach Patrick Knapp’s players gone, coming off the first winning season under Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, and welcoming in a nationally-ranked freshman class, the Hoyas were expected to continue to improve. By winning 20 games for the first time since the 1992-1993 season and making the deepest postseason run in school history, Georgetown did just that.

From the start of the year it was clear that the freshman class was going to play a big role. Guard Adria Crawford and forward Latia Magee started in the season-opening win at Jacksonville State, and in the home opener, an 82-77 victory over Central Michigan, Magee scored a team-high 23 points and Crawford led the Hoyas with 11 rebounds.

Georgetown ran out to a 10-3 conference record in games outside of the Big East and by the start of Big East play the Hoyas had established an identity. No single player was expected to carry the offensive load – seven different Hoyas led the team in scoring in the first 12 games – and the team’s length and athleticism would allow the Hoyas to play aggressive pressure defense.

Georgetown had lost 13 consecutive Big East openers entering the year, but a career-high 25 points from junior guard Shanice Fuller helped edge Syracuse 80-73 to break that streak. The Hoyas picked up victories in two of their next five games for a 3-3 start, but a subsequent four-game losing streak threatened their playoff hopes.

Among those four losses was arguably Georgetown’s most impressive

outing all season, an 80-61 loss against Connecticut. The 37-0 Huskies have held the top spot in the polls all season, and as they enter this weekend’s Final Four, they have won every game by double digits. But the Hoyas came out in front of a sold-out McDonough crowd and matched the Huskies’ intensity and play for much of the first half. Georgetown held a 25-24 lead 13:30 into the game, but Connecticut eventually pulled away for an 80-61 victory.

Georgetown bounced back from the four-game skid with four straight victories, reviving their hopes for the postseason and for a winning record in the Big East. Senior guard Karee Houlette, who by that juncture had established herself as one of the nation’s top shooters, led the Hoyas in scoring for three of those games to help right the ship. A disappointing three-game losing streak that included a first-round Big East tournament loss killed any NCAA tournament possibilities, but the Hoyas’ 7-9 conference mark was plenty for a WNIT bid.

Georgetown’s athletic defense

See shut down Winthrop in the WNIT first round, an easy 73-45 win. By halftime, the Hoyas had built a 10-point lead, and the Eagles never threatened in the second half.

Next up for Georgetown was a trip to Wake Forest. Again, it was all about the defense for the Hoyas, as they forced 20 turnovers and held the Demon Deacons to 32.3 percent shooting. Many of Wake Forest’s points came when the game was already out of reach, and

Georgetown won 72-61 without much trouble.

In the third round,

Richmond had no answer against a quicker Georgetown team. Richmond managed only 14 first-half points, and the Hoyas shut out sophomore guard Brittani Shells, the Spiders’ leading scorer. Houlette led the Hoyas in scoring for the 10th time on the season with 17 points, and Georgetown was through to the quarterfinals.

The Hoyas would advance no further, however, as

Boston College manhandled Georgetown on the boards, riding a 48-28 rebounding advantage on the way to a 65-56 win over the Hoyas. But the defeat did not dampen Williams-Flournoy’s assessment of her team or the prospects for the future.

Four starters will be returning next year, as only three team members will be graduating this year: Houlette, reserve redshirt senior forward Krystle Hatton and senior guard Beata Widding, who made little impact following a string of foot injuries. And with the addition of recruits such as McDonald’s All-American Ta’Shauna Rodgers, Georgetown could contend for an NCAA bid as one of the better teams in the Big East.

“This year showed how much talent we have on the roster and our incoming freshmen will certainly add to that,” Williams-Flournoy said following the Boston College loss. “You hate to end the season in a game you could have won but the strides we took this year have really set us up for success next season.”

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