Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Eyes NIT Win at Home

A three-game losing streak ended any aspirations Georgetown held of an NCAA tournament bid, but a ninth-place finish in the Big East proved enough to earn the Hoyas their first postseason appearance under Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. The fifth-year coach has steered Georgetown (17-13, 7-9 Big East) into tonight’s WNIT first-round matchup against Winthrop (16-15, 9-7 Big South) at McDonough Gymnasium, in which the Hoyas will look to pick up their first postseason victory since 2001.

The Hoyas have scored 63.9 points per game on the season but recently hit an offensive slump, averaging only 50.7 points in their last three contests. In a 70-45 Big East tournament loss to Seton Hall, no Hoya scored more than 10 points as the team struggled to shoot 25.9 percent. Senior guard Karee Houlette, Georgetown’s leading scorer with 10.2 points per game, shot 1-of-6 for only three points in that game. Against Winthrop, who has held opponents to an average 55.9 points, Houlette and the rest of the Hoyas will need to rediscover the offensive touch that had made her one of the Big East’s top outside threats and won Georgetown seven Big East games.

Williams-Flournoy expressed confidence that her players could find their offensive game against the Eagles.

“Every shooter will tell you that they go through slumps,” Williams-Flournoy said. “I think for our team it is about some of our scorers getting some confidence back. . We’ll continue to do what we do on offense but for our scorers it will just be about going into the game with a positive attitude.”

Senior forward Ashley Fann leads an experienced Winthrop squad – the Eagles start four seniors – in both scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.5 rpg). Senior guard Tiffany Rodd is Winthrop’s biggest perimeter threat, averaging 10.6 points per game on the season.

Although Winthrop will be making the first Division I postseason appearance in program history, its four starting seniors and numerous juniors make it a veteran squad.

“They are experienced and have a lot of upperclassmen and an experienced coaching staff,” Williams-Flournoy said.

However, she doesn’t seem worried about the Hoyas’ ability to run with the Eagles.

“I think that we will be able to play an up-tempo game with them,” she said.

If the younger Hoyas can keep their nerves and hit a few shots, they should be able to advance to play Wake Forest in the second round on Sunday. If not, they will be looking at a one-and-done postseason.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m tonight.

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