If the Georgetown women’s basketball team is to improve upon last year’s run to the WNIT quarterfinals, senior forward Jaleesa Butler – the team’s leading returning scorer with an average of 10 points per game last year – will have to continue to play up to her high standards. Butler, who was also second on the team in blocks with 24 and first on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game last year, is not completely satisfied with her play despite her gaudy statistics.”Personally, I need to work on my defense,” Butler said. “I led the team in rebounds last year and was the second-leading scorer, but I also want to be a defensive stopper and a presence in the post.”Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy does not expect Butler to make a massive overhaul to her game; but she also recognizes that her star forward has room for improvement, specifically on the defensive side of the ball.”[Butler] needs to continue to score and rebound,” Williams-Fluornoy said. “But we also need her to defend in the post.”If Butler can make the requisite adjustments and improvements, the Blue and Gray have a good chance of avoiding some of the pitfalls that befell them last year. Despite notching the first 20-win season for Georgetown since 1993-1994 and winning three rounds in the WNIT, Butler sees room for improvement.”Last year we got to the WNIT and played hard, making it further than a lot of previous years,” Butler said. “One of my biggest regrets … had to do with our play in the Big East. We lost some games we shouldn’t have last year, and going forward into this season we are going to remember that.”Arriving at Georgetown three short years ago, Butler knew she had the talent not only to play, but also to distinguish herself in the tough Big East conference. As her scoring average has improved five-fold since her freshman year, Butler attributes her improvement on both ends of the floor to her ever-growing wealth of experience.”My biggest improvement from high school to college has been the learning experience,” Butler said. “I’ve learned the little things like spacing – where to be and when to be there. When you’re recruited, you obviously know how to play basketball, but college [helps you] tweak your game.”Although Butler and the rest of the Hoyas will certainly have many tweaks and improvements to make after the season starts if they want to improve on last year’s 20-14 record, Butler’s biggest adjustment might not have anything to do with playing better defense, scoring or grabbing rebounds. She is one of only five upperclassmen (four seniors and one junior) who will don the Blue and Gray this year, and she will be counted on to provide leadership both on and off the court to the 10 freshmen and sophomores on the roster.Williams-Flournoy understands the important leadership role that her forward could play, and hopes that Butler can help the less experienced players on the team without allowing her own play to suffer.”Jaleesa plays a very important role on this team,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Beyond what she does on the court, we need her to be a leader.”Butler agrees with that assessment, and is not shying away from her new responsibilities.”I’m a senior [now] so that puts me in a leadership role,” Butler said. “I’m not really a vocal leader all of the time, but that is one of the things I’m going to look to do. I just want to be there for the team.”Despite the impressive end to last year and the loss of only one starter, shooting guard and leading scorer Karee Houlette (COL ’09), the still youthful Hoyas were recently picked to finish eighth in the Big East preseason coaches’ poll. The Big East features perennial powerhouses like defending national champion Connecticut, Louisville and Notre Dame, so joining the top ranks of the conference might be too tall a task for one year – but Butler is confident that both she and her Georgetown teammates can exceed expectations this season.”If Coach [Williams-Flournoy] says she wants me to do a specific thing, I want to be successful in doing it,” Butler said. “We were ranked eighth in the preseason poll and I want to be better than eighth when we finish. We’re trying to dance – the WNIT was good, but we think we could be better.”If the Hoyas are to prove the pundits wrong and make the NCAA tournament when March rolls around, it’s up to Butler is going to improve her own game while also providing the kind of leadership that any good team must have. “