Jan. 15, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University women's basketball team (11-6, 1-3 BE) plays the first of two straight road games this week, visiting Rutgers (9-5, 4-1) Tuesday night in Piscataway, N.J. at The RAC before heading to DePaul for a meeting with the Blue Demons on Saturday night. Tip-off against RU is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Due to a bye in the BIG EAST schedule over the weekend, the Hoyas haven't played a game since last Tuesday, a 57-54 loss to No. 16 Louisville.

In their loss to Louisville a week ago, Georgetown rallied from ten points down in the early going of the second half and took a three-point lead with seven minutes left. GU was only able to make 1-9 field goals down the stretch and came up a bit short. The 2006-07 Hoyas have trailed at halftime in 11 of their 17 games. Georgetown has battled back from second half deficits in five of its 11 victories.

Georgetown ranks third in the league and 50th in the nation, yielding just 58.3 points per game.

The Hoyas are 6-0 when they lead at halftime, 10-0 when they shoot for a better field goal percentage than their opponent and 5-0 when they make at least 50 percent of their field goals. GU is 7-0 when they score at least 60 points.

The Hoyas have already surpassed their win total of last season.

Fast Breaks ...Junior forward Kieraah Marlow (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) became the 20th Hoya to reach the 1,000-point plateau two weekends ago at St. John's. The Coatesville, Pa native ranks 12th in the league with 15.8 points per game and has has moved up 11 spots on the school's all-time scoring list. Marlow has seven 20-point games this year. Marlow's 18 made free throws in the Appalachian State win is the single-game high by a BIG EAST player this season. Marlow ranks third among active BIG EAST players with 23 career double-doubles.

-- Junior guard Kristin Heidloff (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) has scored in double figures in two of the last four games with eight of her 19 three-pointers coming in those contests.

-- Freshman point guard Shanice Fuller (Chesapeake, Va./Indian River), who has started in all 17 games, dished out 10 assists in the win over Florida Atlantic, the most since Kristin Heidloff's 10 helpers last season (12/22/05) in a victory over American. Fuller also had seven steals in the win at American, tying for the single-game high by a BIG EAST player this season. The team is 4-2 when she leads the squad in assists. Fuller, who went to the same high school as former Hoya Alonzo Mourning, is averaging 8.0 points, 3.2 assists and is making 40 percent of her field goals in the last three games.

-- Six-foot, five-inch center Aminata Diop, a transfer from Southeastern Illinois J.C., has been steady averaging 7.5 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds. Diop is making 44 percent of her field goals and ranks second on the team with 17 blocks. Diop has been in the starting lineup in each of the last 15 games and has posted two double-doubles, including a 17-point, 16-rebound effort in the OT win over Appalachian State. Diop has scored in double-figures six times, including in two of the last four games.

-- Sophomore Katrina Wheeler, a McDonald's All-American out of T. Roosevelt H.S. in Washington, D.C., leads the team with 7.8 rebounds and ranks second on the squad with 9.6 points. Wheeler, who has 10 career double-doubles, is averaging 11.7 points, 9.5 boards and 2.0 blocks over the last six games including two double-doubles. Wheeler hit for career-highs with 18 points and 10 made free throws at Cincinnati. Wheeler posted 18 points and 12 rebounds last season in a loss to Rutgers.

Scouting Rutgers ...The Scarlet Knights have won four straight and seven of their last eight. RU and GU share Penn State and St. John's as common opponents. Both the Hoyas and Rutgers have defeated St. John's. Rutgers topped the Nittany Lions 57-44 on Nov. 25 while Georgetown fell to PSU, 52-44 on Dec. 17.

Freshman Epiphany Prince (16.1 ppg), sophomore Kia Vaughn (13.9) and junior Essence Carson (10.5) are all averaging double figures.

The Series ... Rutgers leads the all-time series 12-2. Ironically, the two Hoya victories came here at The RAC in 1997 and 2002. RU has won five straight dating back to January 2002.