On the first day of classes for the second semester, the No. 3 Connecticut women’s basketball team (13-1, 1-1 Big East) defeated Georgetown (10-5, 1-1 Big East) 75-48 in front a packed McDonough Gymnasium.

The Huskies were in control right from the start, as they jumped out to a 17-4 lead early in the first half. They never looked back as the Hoyas were only able to get within nine points of the Huskies for the remainder of the game.

The Huskies had four players score in double figures. Senior guard Kelly Faris led Connecticut with 15 points, junior center Stefanie Dolson had 13 points, and junior guard Bria Hartley and freshman forward Breanna Stewart had 12 points apiece.

The Connecticut defense created problems for the Georgetown offense, as the Hoyas committed 26 turnovers and only shot 31 percent from the field. The Huskies limited senior Georgetown star scorer Sugar Rodgers. Rodgers, despite leading the Hoyas with 23 points, was chased relentlessly around the court by various Connecticut players and had 22 field goal attempts. Senior center Sydney Wilson and junior forward Andrea White each had nine points as well.

“We played extremely hard tonight, but giving up 30 points off of turnovers is tough,” said Georgetown head coach Keith Brown following the loss. “We did a lot of things that we wanted to do but we didn’t execute well.”

The Hoyas will look to rebound in their next game when they commence a two-game road trip on Saturday at Syracuse at 3:00 pm. The Hoyas will then travel to South Bend to face No. 2 Notre Dame.

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Last week, the Associated Press reported that Georgetown promoted assistant coach Keith Brown to the head coaching position for women’s basketball. On Monday, Georgetown confirmed the hire in a press release and on Wednesday morning, Athletic Director Lee Reed officially introduced Brown in a press conference.

Donning a Georgetown hat given to him by Reed, Brown spoke about the program at length and thanked his many supporters during his tenure at Georgetown. In a statement issued on Monday, Reed had kind words to offer on Brown’s hiring:

“I am excited to be promoting Keith to head women’s basketball coach. He has been an integral part of our success over the past few seasons and I am confident he can sustain the program’s momentum. Keith is a proven recruiter and motivator, he has the ability to push these student-athletes both on the court and in the classroom and I look forward to what he will bring to the program.”

Brown, a passionate presence on the Hoya bench for the past five seasons, served as former Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy’s top assistant in addition to his role as head of recruiting. He fills a void left by Williams-Flournoy after her departure for the vacant head coaching position at Auburn University.

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The Lady Hoyas flip-flopped their way to a win over the Rider Broncs Sunday afternoon in McDonough Gymnasium. The 58-51 win came with 8 lead changes and a comeback in the second half from a 12 point deficit. Georgetown buckled down, making an 11-0 run against the unranked Broncs, starting with a free throw from junior guard Sugar Rodgers (pictured).

The Rodgers Difference

Rodgers came up huge in yesterday’s contest, scoring 21 points and grabbing 8 boards. Despite shooting only 1-9 from three-land, she was able to help fill the noticeable void of Tia Magee in the contest (resting a sore knee), driving to the paint to help compensate for her off-shooting day. The Broncs kept Sugar scoreless for over thirteen minutes, and the Hoyas trailed during that entire period. However, after her made that foul shot, Georgetown mounted their comeback and soon blew past the women from Rider. 14 of Rodgers points came in the second half.

Defensive Drought

Defense was again problematic for the Hoyas. Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy says, “We really missed Tia at the top of the press”. The press wasn’t at its best, and the team chose not to use their quick trapping play against the comparably speedy Broncs. With subs in for Magee and other usual starters who picked up some first-half fouls, the Hoyas ended up playing a larger lineup than usual. Paired with the lackluster press, Georgetown missed out on some key opportunities defending, especially around the perimeter.

Stepping Up

With the new rotations, lots of players saw action on the court, despite being down to Rider. With the size came some key efforts, especially from Sydney Wilson and Tommacina McBride. McBride was especially impressive, efficiently tacking 10 points onto the score in only 18 minutes of play. Senior Alexa Roche saw 30 minutes, and while she scored only 5 points, she was a major leader on the floor. As one of the players who really sees the floor, she was able to make the offense and defense run by doing the little things. Senior point guard Rubylee Wright put out a great performance, dishing out 8 assists over the course of the evening.

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The Georgetown women’s basketball team opened up the first round of the NCAA tournament with a commanding 65-49 win over Princeton on Sunday afternoon. It is the second straight year the team has won its opening round game.  The fifth-seeded Hoyas came out strong and relied on star player Sugar Rodgers to down the 12th-seeded Tigers.

First half performance

Georgetown held Princeton to 14 points in the first half while Rodgers alone scored 16 points.  The Hoyas’ suffocating full court press shut down the Tigers’ offense, holding them to 28.6 percent shooting and forcing 14 turnovers in the half.  The Hoyas took advantage of the Tigers’ miscues and scored 22 points off turnovers.  Georgetown also shot a staggering 46.2 percent from downtown, half of which came from Rodgers. Princeton adjusted in the second half and outscored the Hoyas 35-31, but couldn’t make up the large first half margin.

“This time we went full court, our madness press because we wanted to start the pressure up a little bit higher and be just a little more aggressive,” head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.

Sugar Rodgers

Sugar Rodgers demonstrated why she is the team leader, scoring 26 points. She also led the team with 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. It was her first double-double since Jan. 8 against Marquette, when she also had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Rodgers shot 8-for-18 from the field and 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.  Juniors Tia Magee and Rubylee Wright supported their sophomore teammate by adding 14 and 11 respectively.

What’s next

On Tuesday the Hoyas will take on the fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins, who defeated St. Francis 70-48 in the first round on Sunday.  Georgetown beat Maryland earlier in the season 53-45 at home, but this time the game will be played at the Comcast Center in College Park. Game time is set for 7:15 p.m

This afternoon, sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers was named to the preseason All-Big East team during the conference’s media day.

Rodgers, who averaged 17.6 points per game last season on route to Big East Freshman on the Year honors, was unanimously chosen by conference coaches.

The preseason coaches’ poll, also released today, ranks the Hoyas third in the conference behind West Virginia and Connecticut, the reigning NCAA champions. As the team’s ranking suggests, Georgetown hopes to build from its successful last season, which was its best in more than a decade.

Coming off of its second-ever NCAA Tournament berth, the team will return three starters from last year, including Rodgers, senior guard Monica McNutt, and junior forward Tia Magee. A preseason poll released by Sporting News ranked Georgetown as the 13th-best team in the country.

The Hoyas will open their season on November 13 in McDonough Gymnasium against Augusta State at 2 p.m.

Photo: GU Athletics

This week, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers to its “Wade Watch” preseason list.

Rodgers is one of the 25 players expected to compete for the Wade Trophy, which is given to the athlete who best embodies “game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability.”

The honor should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Rodgers’ game. In her freshman year, she averaged 17.6 points per game on her way to Honorable Mention AP All-American, First Team All-Big East, and Big East Freshman of the Year honors.

Rodgers is joined on the “Wade Watch” list by three of her Big East rivals: reigning player of the year Maya Moore, her UConn teammate Tiffany Hayes, and Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins.

After the most successful season in program history, which included a 13-3 conference record and a win in the NCAA tournament, Georgetown’s women’s basketball team has kept itself busy. Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy signed a contract extension until the 2014-2015 season, and D.C. All-Met guard Taylor Brown recently committed to the program.

But, a plea to the athletic department: Don’t stop giving away those Chipotle gift cards at women’s basketball games if the team gets popular. (We survive on those burritos.)