April 24, 2010
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's basketball team finished its 2009-10 season with a banquet honoring the team Friday evening at Leavy Center. The winners of various team awards were announced and the team debuted the highlight video.
The squad had the most successful season in program history with an overall record of 26-7 and a mark of 13-3 in the BIG EAST. The Hoyas defeated four ranked teams this season and was ranked in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Polls for 10-consecutive weeks, at one point reaching No. 12 on the AP Poll and No. 11 on the ESPN/USA Today Poll. The Blue & Gray finished the season with an RPI of 20, as well as being ranked 13th and 17th on the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Polls, respectively.
GU tied for second in league play and earned its first berth in the NCAA Tournament where the Hoyas advanced to the second round. In addition, Georgetown continued a 15-game home court win streak, which is the 11th longest in the nation.
An integral part of the team's success this season was senior forward Jaleesa Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Alton), who was given the Ginger Zimmerman Rebounding Award. She led the squad with 199 rebounds, including 111 defensive and 88 offensive boards, which was good enough to rank 20th in the conference. Butler averaged 6.2 rebounds per game, and she was ranked ninth in the BIG EAST with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game. She also led the Hoyas 16 times this season in caroms, recording a career-high 13 against Dayton. Butler had three double-doubles this season, bringing her career total to seven.
Junior shooting guard Monica McNutt (Suitland, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) won the George Comer Steals Award. The team captain had a squad-high 73 steals, bringing her career total to 144. She ranks ninth for steals in a season and 21st on the career list in the GU record books. McNutt's best performance came against Southwest Baptist, in which she recorded six steals. Helped by her performance, Georgetown was among the top-three in the country for steals per game for the season, topping conference-rival Notre Dame. In addition, the Hoyas led the country in turnover margin all season, finishing the season with a +8.12 advantage.
The Ed Rogozinski Assist Award was won by sophomore point guard Rubylee Wright (Latta, S.C./Latta). She led the team with 128 assists, good for eighth all-time for assists in a season. Her career total increased to 198 assists, landing her ranked 22nd on the career assists list. Wright's career high was nine assists against Jacksonville State, and she recorded eight assists in two other wins this season. Georgetown finished the year ranked sixth in the conference and 22nd in the country in assists per game with 15.8. The Hoyas were also 24th in the country for assist-to-turnover ratio with 0.99 assists per turnover.
The winner of the Dugan Family Points Leaders was freshman shooting guard Sugar Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork). She was an Honorable Mention AP All-American and First Team All-BIG EAST, the first time in the program history that a freshman won both honors. Rodgers also earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and five BIG EAST Rookie of the Week awards, as well as being named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll three times. She finished fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.6 ppg and led the league in three-pointers made with 2.5 per game. She is ranked fourth in the GU record books for points in a season with 580 points this year. Rodger's 83 three-pointers places her as the all-time leader for three's in a season and 11th on the career list.
Senior guard Kenya Kirkland (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street Campus) won the Abbie Dillon-Mullan Scholar-Athlete Award. The award is given to the player with the highest GPA on the team. Kirkland, known mostly as a defensive stopper, was a team tri-captain and a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star. She recorded four points and three rebounds in the season opener against Missouri State on November, 14, 2009 and three steals in the win against La Salle on December 1, 2009. She also appeared in 28 games this season, including both NCAA Tournament contests.
McNutt also won the Paluszek Family Hoya Award given to the player that in an MVP both on and off the court. McNutt started every game and was Second Team All-BIG EAST. She was also named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll four times and finished 27th in the league in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game. McNutt was ranked 11th in the BIG EAST in three-point percentage, and seventh in the league for three-pointers made with 2.0 per game. Her 66 three-pointers were good for the fifth place for three's in a season, and her 137 career trey's landed her in seventh on the career list. Her career-best 26 points in a game came in the win against Cincinnati, in which she sank eight three-pointers. McNutt was second on the team with 371 points and is tied for 30th on the all-time career scoring list. She led the Hoyas in scoring eight times this season, in steals with 73 and in free-throw percentage shooting 85.9 percent.
After words from Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy and the highlight video, the 2009-10 Hoyas called it a season. Georgetown will lose four players to graduation but returns three starters and four of its top five scorers next year.
