The Georgetown women’s basketball team will look to return to form this Saturday night when it travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., for a matchup against Wake Forest. The contest kicks off a four-game road trip for the No. 12 Hoyas (6-1), who will not return to McDonough Arena until Dec. 19.
The Blue and Gray will look to rebound from Wednesday’s surprisingly difficult home game against Richmond.
“I think we could have played a little bit harder,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We gave Richmond some confidence, let them hit some shots in the beginning. And teams like that, you can’t give them that type of confidence.”
The Spiders shot a staggering 63.6 percent from the field in the first half, and the Lady Hoyas were barely able to pull out a one-point victory against a middle-of-the-pack Atlantic-10 team.
“We need to change our intensity,” said senior guard Monica McNutt, who had 18 points in the win.
The Demon Deacons (5-2) will be hungry for a win on Saturday, having suffered two blowout losses in their last three games at the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. They are averaging over 80 points per game this season, including a 111-point effort in a rout of North Carolina Central.
Something will have to give, however, as Georgetown’s opponents thus far have been able to muster only 52 points per game; Richmond’s 64-point effort on Wednesday was by far the most the Lady Hoyas have given up all season.
“We hang our hat on our defense, so we want to slow them down immediately,” McNutt said.
Georgetown will continue using the chaotic, high-pressure style that has served them well thus far. Wake Forest likes to run just as much, which means Saturday’s game has a good chance of becoming the type of frenzied track meet in which the Lady Hoyas thrive.
“We’ll always press, we’ll always run. That’s just what we do,” Williams-Flournoy said.
The Demon Deacons boast a well-rounded offense, with four players scoring in double figures on average. The Lady Hoyas will look to contain Wake Forest’s 5-foot-5 freshman guard Chelsea Douglas, who is averaging 12.3 points through seven games despite starting only once.
The Blue and Gray aim to build on their huge victory against then-No. 4 Tennessee by sweeping the long road trip, but they will have to improve on their most recent performance.
“Going into somebody’s house, you have to be serious. You have to be about your business. There’s no room for errors,” McNutt said. “This is one of our opportunities to show our growth.”
