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 Storms Through Trap Games as UConn Looms

Tuesday morning, with a night game set against Villanova, the Georgetown women’s basketball team (24-4, 12-2 Big East) woke up to a new school-record ranking, reaching the No. 11 spot in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll. The Hoyas have also achieved an RPI rank between 10 and 12 in three separate RPI listings, as well as the No. 12 spot in the AP poll.

 

Coming off a huge win over Notre Dame and a daunting matchup against the No. 1 UConn Huskies in the near future, the Hoyas once again found themselves sandwiched with trap games against much weaker teams. The first came against Big East cellar dweller Villanova (13-14, 2-12 Big East), who the Hoyas defeated 70-54 Tuesday night.

 

 

 

Villanova had a 34-29 advantage at the half after the Hoyas were only able to muster 36 percent shooting from the field. Poor shooting, especially in the first half, has been a crux for the Hoyas, who usually have to deal with runs by other teams.

 

 

 

“I think the first half we were just a little bit too concerned about Villanova,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “We played at their pace in the first half, and that’s not how we play.”

 

 

 

The Hoyas recovered to shut down the Wildcats’ offense in the second half, allowing just 20 Villanova points, while the Hoyas scored double that total for 41 second-half points of their own.

 

 

 

Georgetown did not allow a single ‘Nova three to go through the hoop while allowing the Wildcats just 18 shots, only four of which they made. Georgetown, meanwhile, shot 50 percent from the floor and finished shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc on 8-of-16 shooting. The Hoyas also out-rebounded their opponent for the second straight game with a 39-26 advantage.

 

 

 

“I think we just have more people going for the ball,” Williams-Flournoy said. “[We’re] really emphasizing that all five players have to get the rebound.”

 

 

 

Freshman guard Ta’Shauna “Sugar” Rodgers led the way with 23 points, shooting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc, while notching three steals. Sophomore forward Latia Magee added 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Rubylee Wright added five assists and two steals.

 

 

 

On Thursday night, the Hoyas defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 70-39 in a rescheduled non-conference game. Georgetown was supposed to play Jacksonville State in December, but a massive snowstorm hit the D.C. area and caused the game to be postponed. Williams-Flournoy didn’t mind playing the game now at the end of the Big East season and right before UConn.

 

 

 

“I don’t think it’s a pain. The game had to be played,” she said.

 

 

 

The Hoyas led 33-11 at halftime while Jacksonville State played like a true out-of-conference, end-of-finals-week opponent, with poor ball handling, passing and floor management skills. Junior guard Monica McNutt started off 4-of-8 from behind the arc for 15 points, finishing with 18, while the Hoyas forced 31 turnovers. Wright handed out nine assists and added six steals and eight points with Rodgers adding 12 points and six rebounds. Georgetown’s reserves played most of the second half as the Hoyas never led by less than 20.

 

 

 

“They came out and they pushed the ball. [Sophomore guard] Morgan [Williams] pushed the ball. They’re younger,” Williams-Flournoy said. “The two freshmen [forwards] Vanessa [Moore] and Sydney [Wilson], hopefully they take those minutes and learn from them.”

 

 

 

The Wildcats and Gamecocks presented a second consecutive trap week for the Hoyas, who lost to then-No. 8 West Virginia on Valentine’s Day, then beat USF before defeating then-No. 4 Notre Dame on Saturday. The Wildcats are 15th in the Big East standings, while Connecticut, the Hoyas’ opponent on Saturday, is the best team in the nation with a 67-game win streak, which is approaching its own national record.

 

 

 

“It’s tough,” McNutt said about the trap games. “We are very big-game minded. Notre Dame was a huge win. We have UConn. If we were to win up there, it would be incredible. But Coach [Williams-Flournoy] had told us, `These are the biggest games you’re going to play. They’re trap games,’ and Lord knows if we lost these games.”

 

 

 

They didn’t, and the victory over Villanova keeps the Hoyas tied for second place in the conference standings with West Virginia, each at 12-2. Notre Dame is fourth with an 11-3 record. Both Georgetown and the Fighting Irish have to play the seemingly unstoppable Connecticut, but the only other Big East team capable of entering the top-four in conference standings is St. John’s. If, by virtue of how the Hoyas, Notre Dame and St. John’s finish, all three teams are tied, the Hoyas would be given top seeding over the other two teams, having beaten St. Johns 67-57 on Feb. 2 and defeated Notre Dame 70-60 on Saturday.

 

 

 

As of Thursday, however, UConn was the only team to have officially clinched a double bye. The Hoyas have already clinched a first-round bye in the Big East tournament.

 

 

 

cNutt, however, had done the math and knew the Hoyas were all but guaranteed a two-round bye.

 

“We’re so excited. This is the first time in I don’t know how long that we’ve clinched a two-game bye,” McNutt said.

 

 

 

Now come the Huskies. Unquestionably the team that has dominated like no other, UConn averages a 36.5 point margin of victory over its opponents, including blowout wins over Texas, Stanford, Florida State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Duke, West Virginia and Oklahoma – all top teams in the nation.

 

“It is just another Big East game,” Williams-Flournoy said. “We can’t change the way we play. UConn is UConn, no matter how we play. We have to play defense and we have to play defense against them, just like any other team.”

“I have not scouted them that well, but I will say that UConn sets a benchmark for women’s basketball,” McNutt said. “So we need to step up. We joke that we need to be perfect, and UConn just needs to be a little off. But I will say that the years of being blown out by 50 points are over. Last year we played one of the closest games of the year against them. So we’re just going to give it a shot up in Hartford.”

 

 

 

Winning is certainly not out of the minds of any of the Hoyas. Last year, the Hoyas played UConn very close in the second half, being outscored just 35-31. It will be difficult, but the Huskies have shown less resistance as of late, with closer wins over Syracuse and Oklahoma. But by UConn’s standards, winning by 21 and 16, respectively, the victories were close calls.

 

 

 

Nevertheless, a good game against the Huskies would give Georgetown momentum as it heads into the final week of the season. After that, the postseason will begin, and the Hoyas have a shot to continue their historic season.

 

 

 

Tipoff is set for noon, in Storrs, Conn.

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