Photos: John Delgado-McCollum (slides 1-11, 34-36), Kat Easop (slides 12-33) / Georgetown Voice

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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Auburn University announced the hiring of Terri Williams-Flournoy as its new women’s basketball coach on Monday, marking the end of Williams-Flournoy’s eight-season run as head coach at Georgetown. Her departure marks the end of the most successful stretch in program history, with Williams-Flournoy leading the Hoyas to four straight 20-win seasons, a mark the team had reached only three times in its previous 38 years of existence.

“I would like to thank Terri for her many contributions to Georgetown Athletics and to the Georgetown community,” athletic director Lee Reed said in a statement. “Over the course of the past eight seasons, Terri has elevated Georgetown women’s basketball to unprecedented heights. Along with President DeGioia and our athletics staff, I thank Terri for her dedicated service to Georgetown and we wish her and her family our very best. She did a remarkable job during her tenure and she will definitely be missed on the Hilltop.”

Williams-Flournoy, who started her college coaching career as an assistant at Georgetown in 1992, returned to become head coach in 2004 looking to build the middling Hoyas program into a contender. She suffered through three losing seasons, but ultimately broke through in 2008-09 with a 20-14 campaign and a berth in the NIT. From there the Hoyas only continued to improve, earning NCAA Tournament bids in each of the last three seasons, highlighted by the second Sweet 16 appearance in program history in 2011.

“I’m very grateful to Georgetown,” Williams-Flournoy told the Washington Post. “I think we did accomplish a lot. If you look at the first three years when I started and even in that fourth year, it took a lot to get the program turned around. It’s almost like watching your child grow.”

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Photos: Abby Greene

Photos: Abby Greene

Photos: Richard J. De La Paz

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 University Athletic Department announced today that Terri Williams-Flournoy, coach of the Georgetown University women’s basketball team, will assistant coach for the US women’s basketball team at the 2011 World University Games. She joins four-time head coach Bill Fennelly of Iowa State University and fellow assistant and former teammate Suzie McConnell-Serio of Duquesne University in working to defend the USA’s 2009 gold medal at the women’s university basketball competition on August 14-21 in Shenzhen, China.

“I know we will have a great staff with Suzie and Terri,” Fennelly said in the University press release. “I think they are two of the best young coaches in the country, and they are even better people. Our athletes are really going to enjoy working with them.”

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