There were fresh new faces, but it was the same old story.

On the sidelines, Head Coach Pat Knapp resigned in July 2004 after 18 years leading Georgetown’s women’s basketball team. His tenure was legendary. Twelve of his former players went on to play professionally in the European league; two were drafted into the WNBA.

But his star had fallen recently. During his final season, inconsistency on the court turned high preseason expectations into postseason disappointment. The Hoyas finished the 2003-04 season 13-15.

When his former assistant coach Terri Williams-Flournoy was named his successor in late August 2004, there was hope of a turnaround.

Yet the team lost Rebekkah Brunson (COL ’04), the squad’s leading scorer, to the WNBA. Then starter guard Carmen Bruce transferred to Duquesne. The new lineup looked ominously freshman-heavy.

For better or for worse, the slate was cleaned.

Having won the past four contests between the two teams, the Hoyas were favored heavily when they opened against local rival George Washington University on Nov. 19. At the end of the first half they were leading, but weak offense during a disastrous second half saw Georgetown’s lead disappear.

Earlier that week during an exhibition game against UMMC-Ekaterinburg, free throw weakness doomed the team.

During the George Washington game, layups were the problem.

“It goes from one thing to the other,” Williams-Flournoy said after the game. The game, and the problems, would become emblematic of the remainder of the season.

Nor did the offensive troubles disappear as the Hoyas grabbed their first victory, 73-63 against Army on Dec. 7. Instead, strong defense compensated.

Shoddy offense snowballed with injuries during winter break and into January. Senior point guard Mary Lisicky, sidelined for most of the month with a hip injury, could only watch as the team slipped to a 5-9 record, including two humiliating 78-29 and 69-33 losses to Boston College and Rutgers, respectively. To make matters worse, freshman forward Kieraah Marlow suffered a knee injury.

But a glimmer of hope emerged on Jan. 21, when Georgetown faced St. John’s, both teams until then winless in conference play. Led by freshman point guard Kristin Heidloff, the Hoyas put up their second-highest scoring output of the season. Heidloff marked a career-high 23 points for the game, followed by three other teammates with double-digit contributions.

“It’s not just good for me. It’s good for the kids too,” Williams-Flournoy said after the game. “They needed it. We needed a win.”

Four days later against Pittsburgh, the offensive woes of the previous months finally appeared to subside. The 85-81 loss was due to a lack of defense. During the next contest against Seton Hall on Jan. 26, weak offense once again reared its ugly head, leading to a 63-47 loss.

“They can fix one thing and then we have to go back and fix something else. They’re just not bringing it together,” Williams-Flournoy said. “They’re not carrying it over into the next game.”

Nevertheless, she was optimistic: “We’ll eventually bring it all together.”

Her optimism was well-founded. Days later on Jan. 29, the Hoyas scored their second conference victory. But it was not just a victory; it was a blowout. Georgetown routed Providence 87-30, marking a record margin of victory for the Hoyas as well as a record low for the Friars, who struggled through a disappointing season.

Marlow, fully recovered, marked 20 points and 10 rebounds – a performance worthy of a second conference Rookie of the Week title. Lisicky also emerged from the bench, and racked up 11 points in 17 minutes of playing time.

The win, followed by a 70-56 rout of the Syracuse Orange on Feb. 2, gave the Hoyas their second back-to-back wins of the season, their first in conference play.

Back-to-back wins turned into a winning streak after Georgetown firmly beat West Virginia 71-65 on Feb. 4. Despite a close scoreboard as the final minutes clicked away, Georgetown never lost its composure.

“I felt that we have a different team after the two wins,” Lisicky said following the game.

But the future loomed: The next two contests were against two top-10 teams in No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 10 Connecticut.

The Fighting Irish put an abrupt end to Georgetown’s winning streak with a 72-58 victory on Feb. 12, despite a 16-point and five-assist effort from Lisicky.

It was a similar story the following week against the Huskies in cDonough Gymnasium. The 69-47 loss was Georgetown’s 18th straight against Connecticut.

During their final road trip of the season, the Hoyas lost to West Virginia 73-61, but won against struggling St. John’s 64-57. Indicating a reverse from early-season woes, both contests were marked by sharp shooting. Heidloff dropped four three-pointers against West Virginia. Marlow contributed 12 points in the same contest and 14 points against St. John’s.

The victory over St. John’s marked the beginning of the team’s second wining streak, which ran almost to the season’s close. A surprise 62-60 victory over Villanova on Feb. 26 was buttressed by a 73-67 victory over Syracuse on March 1.

Williams-Flournoy called the victory over Villanova “breathtaking,” as it marked a real turnaround for a team that had previously struggled in closing moments. Enjoying a final upswing, the Hoyas ended regular-season play ranked sixth in the Big East – their highest ranking that season.

That final euphoria following the home victory over Syracuse was abruptly crushed a week later during the first round of the National Invitational Tournament in Hartford, Conn., where the Hoyas faced familiar foe Syracuse.

Despite their strong performance a week earlier, Georgetown put up a tired defense during a 65-58 loss. Marlow, the team’s leading scorer throughout the rest of the season, was notably sluggish, with 1-for-6 shooting on the half.

Syracuse was hungry for revenge after two consecutive losses. “After two losses, you’re tired,” Syracuse senior center Chineze Nwagbo said following the game. “I was just hungry. I wanted to win.”

Williams-Flournoy was at loss for an explanation. “I thought we came out flat. We weren’t ready, and the players got what they deserved,” she said.

Nevertheless, after an initial period of adjustment and despite the final collapse, it was obvious that the team had turned around significantly and had begun transforming all those fresh new faces into a cohesive unit. Looking back, Williams-Flournoy now recognizes that change.

“By the second part of the season, things started to click, like `Oh, that’s what she means,’ `Oh, that’s what she wanted me to do,'” she said last month.