June 13, 2011
WASHINGTON - The BIG EAST Conference has selected new home/away opponents for the 2011-12 women's basketball season. Georgetown will face all 15 conference opponents once with a home/away series against Syracuse, rekindling the series from two seasons ago. Included on the Hoyas' home slate are DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John's and Seton Hall.
The conference had maintained the same repeat opponents the past two seasons for all squads and the past four or more seasons for some. The rationale in determining the repeat opponents are as followed: providing additional television inventory; competitive issues/RPI implications and geographic rivalries/minimizing travel costs.
The 2010-11 BIG EAST women's basketball season included a record-breaking nine teams in the NCAA Championship and one team in the WNIT. All 10 teams won their first-round games and the BIG EAST matched a record with 19 NCAA Tournament wins. Both Notre Dame and Connecticut reached the Final Four, with the Fighting Irish reaching the national title game. The success of BIG EAST women's basketball throughout the season was evident as the league had a consistent presence in the national polls and the RPI rankings. There was overwhelming depth in the league was 10 of the 16 teams broke the 20-win plateau.
For the sixth-straight season, the league posted a nonconference record in regular-season play of over .700. The league's home attendance figures continue to rise year-after-year with a combined 20 sellouts this season, a record for the conference. The BIG EAST again reached new heights in its national, regional and local television exposure.
With next season's start still months away, the future remains bright for BIG EAST women's basketball. In ESPN's 64 teams to watch in 2011-12, the sports network named eight BIG EAST teams: Notre Dame (No. 3), Connecticut (No. 6), Georgetown (No. 9), Louisville (No. 11), Rutgers (No. 17), DePaul (No. 19), St. John's (No. 25) and Syracuse (No. 30).
In her seventh season on the Hilltop, Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy led the squad to one of the most successful seasons in program history with an overall record of 24-11 and a mark of 9-7 in the BIG EAST. The Hoyas defeated five ranked teams and were ranked in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Polls for the entire year, at one point reaching No. 11 on the AP Poll and No. 12 on the ESPN/USA Today Poll. The Blue & Gray finished the season with an RPI of 12, as well as being ranked 23rd and 14th on the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Polls, respectively.
GU tied for seventh in league play and earned its second-consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament where the Hoyas advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history. Georgetown fell in the Round of 16 to Connecticut, 68-63, despite leading almost the entire game.
The Hoyas lose just one senior to graduation in Monica McNutt, but returns four starters including All-American Sugar Rodgers (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork). GU will welcome three freshmen Taylor Brown, Brittany Horne and Jasmine Jackson.
Georgetown will announce its full schedule in September.
2011-12 BIG EAST Repeat Opponents
Cincinnati/Marquette
Connecticut/Notre Dame
DePaul/Louisville
Georgetown/Syracuse
Pittsburgh/West Virginia
Providence/Villanova
Rutgers/St. John's
Seton Hall/USF
