Almost everyone knew the Georgetown Hoyas’ story by the night of the 2024 Big East Championship game.
Tasha Butts, the Hoyas’ newly-hired head coach, sadly passed away two weeks before the start of the team’s 2023-24 campaign. Under interim coach Darnell Haney, Georgetown amassed a .500 conference record and a No. 6 seed in the Big East Tournament. Haney’s Hoyas played dominant postseason basketball, knocking off the third-seeded St. John’s Red Storm and second-seeded Creighton Bluejays on consecutive evenings for their first championship game appearance.
Georgetown’s feel-good Big East Tournament run ended with a loss to the top-seeded UConn women’s basketball team. That double-digit defeat only marked the conclusion of one chapter in the Hoyas’ new potential bestselling novel.
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Year two under Haney, sans interim tag, will feel slightly different than the first. Yet even with those imminent changes, some constants remain.
Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year Kelsey Ransom returns for one final go-around in Washington, D.C. Her presence alone gives Georgetown a floor general and a leader who will guide the program further in its new direction. Ransom provides an effective scoring touch, and it meshes well with the assists that she records. That is just one side of the ball for the All-Big East First Team selection; the other strips unsuspecting players of the rock and creates extra possessions for her team.
Most of Ransom’s main backcourt teammates departed in the offseason, either because of exhausted eligibility or the transfer portal. Despite the notable losses in that department, junior guard Victoria Rivera’s role on the team increases only slightly. Rivera led the Hoyas with 48 three-pointers and was third in total shots attempted at 251. The Texas native’s increased duties include being more disruptive in the transition game and intensifying her tendency to find her open teammates.
Both of those tasks will alleviate the loss of veteran guard Alex Cowan, but Rivera alone cannot fill Georgetown’s backcourt voids. That is where the Hoyas’ four first-year guards and Richmond transfer Siobhan Ryan enter the fray. Ryan, an Atlantic 10 Tournament champion, complements her consistency in grabbing missed shots by letting the ball fly from downtown. Her 173 triples in four years (43.3 per season) with the Spiders will fit with any scheme involving a three-point barrage.
Big East Sixth Woman of the Year Brianna Scott, meanwhile, has the tall task of filling Graceann Bennett’s shoes under center. Fulfilling it should not be a major issue; Scott led the squad with 38 rejections despite not starting a single contest. The 2020 Washington Post Second Team All-Met selection also collected 5+ rebounds 19 times last season.
Once she fully heals from the torn ACL and MCL she suffered in the Big East Tournament, Scott will have the skillset of a first-team goliath. Senior center Ariel Jenkins will handle things down low until the 6-foot-4 forward returns.
It is worth noting that Jenkins averaged 11.4 minutes per game despite starting 18 contests. The Piscataway, New Jersey, native still made her mark when she was on the court with 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds a night to accompany her 16 total blocks. Jenkins made Georgetown stronger through her efforts, but she must improve all of those averages.
That does not mean she has to do everything by herself; Princeton transfer Chetanna Nweke will step in as the Hoyas’ new formidable forward. Nweke, a former teammate of UConn’s graduate guard Kaitlyn Chen, averaged a career-best 6.1 points at a 60% clip and supported it with 4.8 boards per game. The fellow former Tiger posted those numbers in 29 contests and 13 starts as a senior. If she makes Georgetown’s starting lineup, there is a decent chance Nweke could average around a double-double.
Keep an eye out for an increased impact from senior Kaliyah Myricks. Sure, the 6-foot-2 forward saw limited action as a junior and collected more rebounds than she had points. This year, though, Myricks could be in for a meaningful breakout campaign on the boards as one of the team’s veteran frontcourt players.
Getting that type of season from the New Jersey native should bolster the Hoyas’ new postseason aspirations. A WNIT berth will not cut it for Georgetown; their push for an NCAA Tournament bid will significantly raise the Big East’s overall competition level. Running on that much motivation following their 2024 Big East Tournament run should result in the Hoyas’ best conference finish since 2019.
How the Huskies can defeat Georgetown next season
Physical defense matters; two of Georgetown’s four Big East Tournament opponents fell victim to that aspect. Connecticut cracked the code three times last year, but the Hoyas changed the lock during the offseason. Figuring out their imposing defense this time around will require another set of keys.
Part one of the three-piece puzzle features Ransom and the transition game. The Huskies can slip past the graduate guard if the ball is in either Chen’s, Paige Bueckers’ or KK Arnold’s hands. Bueckers and the Princeton transfer each have poise; Arnold attacks with her blazing speed.
Awaiting beyond the Gates of Ransom are the perimeter protectors, defenders who can make any opponent shoot poorly from downtown. Redshirt junior Azzi Fudd’s return should boost UConn’s long-range rate. The two-time Big East Player of the Year in Bueckers and Big East Freshman of the Year Ashlynn Shade should accompany Fudd from behind the arc.
Should they decide against the three, the Huskies will need to best the beasts lurking on the boards. Enter Connecticut’s young frontcourt forces: Sarah Strong, Jana El-Alfy and Ice Brady. While only El-Alfy is taller than Scott and Jenkins at 6-foot-5, each forward can strike from a different area of the interior.
Each meeting with Georgetown will likely be a battle of defensive wit. The secret to victory for either squad will involve breaking their opponent’s defense. The Huskies have the athletes to once again solve that style of play. Efficient offensive outings from at least their top nine players should get the job done.
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