The Georgetown women’s basketball team went 2-1 over Thanksgiving weekend en route to winning the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The No. 12 Hoyas (5-1) upset the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (6-1) 69-58 in Saturday’s championship match.
The Blue and Gray also defeated Georgia Tech (4-4) 67-58 Thursday while falling to Missouri (2-3) 54-45 Friday in the four-team, round-robin tournament.
Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers was named the Paradise Jam Reef Division most valuable player as well as the Big East women’s basketball player of the week after scoring 28 points in the win over Tennessee and averaging 17.3 points per game in the tournament. Senior guard Monica McNutt, who averaged 15.7 points per game in St. Thomas, was also named to the all-tournament team.
GEORGETOWN 67, GEORGIA TECH 58
In the opening game of the tournament, the Hoyas defeated the Yellow Jackets 67-58 after trailing 39-38 at the half. The Georgetown victory was the 100th of Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy’s career.
The Blue and Gray were led by McNutt, who made five three-pointers on her way to a game-high 24 points. Rodgers also contributed 11 points, while junior forwards Adria Crawford and Tia Magee and junior guards Rubylee Wright and Alexa Roche each added seven points of their own. As a team, the Hoyas shot 42.9 percent from the field and forced 22 turnovers in the win.
“We came out very hungry,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Everybody contributed and we played aggressive defense. . I think just overall, a whole team effort was there.”
With the Hoyas leading by four and seven minutes remaining, McNutt scored 11 consecutive points for the Hoyas, catapulting Georgetown to a 63-52 advantage that they held onto until the final whistle.
ISSOURI 54, GEORGETOWN 45
The Hoyas failed to maintain their momentum after the Thanksgiving Day victory over Georgia Tech, falling 54-45 to unranked Missouri in Friday’s matchup.
“We came out very lackadaisical, just kind of going through the motions, and it showed right from the beginning,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We can never come out and not play hard. That’s not an option. Ever. . That’s not Georgetown women’s basketball.”
The Blue and Gray trailed for most of the first half and struggled from the field, shooting only 32.8 percent in the game. The Hoyas managed to take a three-point lead with 11:10 remaining in the second half, but a 16-2 run by Missouri over the next five minutes gave the Tigers an 11-point lead with five minutes left.
Georgetown was able to close the gap to four with one minute remaining in the contest, but Missouri, led by senior guard RaeShara Brown’s 17 points and 11 rebounds, held on for the nine point victory.
The loss was the Hoyas’ first of the season.
GEORGETOWN 69, TENNESSEE 58
Despite falling to Missouri the night before, the Hoyas flipped the switch and dominated No. 4 Tennessee, winning 69-58.
Georgetown led for the duration of the game, taking an early 16-9 lead in the first half and leading by as much as 11 late in the period. A 7-3 Tennessee run at the end of the half brought the Lady Volunteers within six, but a late three by Rodgers allowed the Hoyas to escape a Tennessee comeback. The Hoyas took a 29-22 lead into halftime and only widened the gap in the second half, leading by as many as 17.
“Our girls were able to go out and play aggressive defense. We turned them over 29 times. Although we do that a lot, it almost seems like it’s doubled when you do it against somebody really good,” Williams-Flournoy said. “When you make a very good team turn the ball over, that means we’re playing defense like we know how to play defense.”
Rodgers led the Blue and Gray with 28 points, one shy of her career high, on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point land.
“Sugar has always been the type of player who steps up for the big games. She sees that as a challenge. She’s used to playing against those types of players, playing AAU with them all summer long,” Williams-Flournoy said about the former McDonald’s High School All-American.
13 points from McNutt, as well as seven points, 11 assists and three steals from Wright also helped catapult the Hoyas to victory against the national powerhouse.
“Rubylee got me the ball, got Sug’ the ball,” McNutt said. “If it wasn’t for our teammates setting us up and putting us in a position for success, it wouldn’t have happened.”
The players attributed much of their success in the game against Tennessee to their disappointment with Friday night’s performance against Missouri.
“Losing to Missouri, I think, was the wake up call for the season,” Rodgers said.
“I’m not sure we would’ve come out as inspired against Tennessee if it wasn’t for the wakeup call against Missouri,” McNutt added. “But to beat Tennessee, how many other college programs get to say that?”
Williams-Flournoy, however, treated the victory as just another win.
“Any win or championship is good for a team. We’ll take this, learn from it and move on,” she said. “Winning against a team like Tennessee just gives you more confidence.”
The Hoyas will look to build off their success in the Virgin Islands back at home Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the University of Richmond. They will then head back to the road Saturday for a week-long stretch of away contests that include stops at Wake Forest, the University of Miami (Fla.), Rutgers and Rider.
