The Georgetown Women's Basketball Team was originally started as a part of the Women's Athletic Association 1968. In 1970, they notably switched from women's to men's rules. Only beginning in 1974 did the team become a varsity sport. Since they joined the Big East in 1983, the team has gone on to four appearances in the NCAA March Madness tournament and two Sweet Sixteen appearances as well as eight appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The 1969 Season
The team, headed by Captain Seton Wall (guard), began practicing in November 1968 in preparation for a mid-February start to their schedule. Coached by Bob Holder, they were determined to better their 1968 record of eight wins and three losses. Their schedule included Immaculata, Montgomery Junior, Dunbarton, Prince Georges Community, Gallaudet, Marymount and George Washington. Members of the '69 team included former captain Kathy Allen (rover), Kathy Donovan (forward), Kathy Gallagher (guard), Conchita Llach (rover), Mary Kay Nolan (rover), Liz Anne Walsh (forward), Polly Mackin (guard), Marie Hogan (forward), Barbara Muckerman (guard), Myra Huxtable (rover), Libby Heskin (forward) and Peggy Kipps (rover).
Coaches
The first recorded coach of the women's basketball team is Bob Holder in 1969. He served as coach until 1970, at which point he was replaced by Betty Underwood, who served from 1970-1974. Francis Carr (1974-1981) and Mary Briese (1981-1983) were the last coaches of the team before they joined the Big East, at which point they were coached by Cheryl Thompson (1983-1986). In 1986, Patrick Knapp joined the team as coach and led the team to their first NCAA tournament run. He stayed on until 2004, at which point Terry Williams-Flournoy, who led the Hoyas to three NCAA tournament runs throughout the course of his career, replaced him. From 2012-2014, the Hoyas had two coaches who only served for a season each, Keith Brown (2012-2013) and Jim Lewis (2013-2014). In 2014, Natasha Adair stepped in as head coach. James Howard coached the team from 2017-2023. The current and twelfth coach of the Georgetown Women's Basketball team is Tasha Butts, hired in April 20231. Butts previously served as an assistant coach at programs such as UCLA and Georgia Tech2.
Tournament Appearances
The women's basketball team's first appearance in the NCAA tournament was in 1993 with Patrick Knapp, where they were seeded 6th. During this tournament — hosted in Richmond, VA — Georgetown played Northern Illinois (W76-74), Penn State (W68-67), and lost in the Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament to the University of Virginia (L77-57). Their next appearances would not be until 2010 and 2011, where, under Terry Williams-Flournoy, they made it to the second and Sweet Sixteen rounds, respectively. In 2010, Georgetown was seeded 5th, and played Marist (W62-42) before losing to Baylor (L49-33). In 2011, Georgetown was also seeded 5th, and played Princeton (W65-49) and Maryland (W79-57) before losing to Connecticut (L53-58). Their most recent appearance was in 2012, where also under Terry Williams-Flournoy, they played Fresno State (W61-56) before losing to Georgia Tech (L64-76).
The women's basketball team's first appearance in the WNIT was in 1993 with Patrick Knapp. Their next run would not be until Terry Williams-Flournoy led the Hoyas to the tournament in 2009, playing Winthrop (W73-45), Wake Forest (W72-61) and Richmond (W65-49) before losing to Boston College (65-56) in the quarterfinals. With Adair, the Hoyas also made appearances at the tournament, losing in the first round in 2016 to Rutgers (L57-55) and in the first round in 2017 to Fordham (L49-60). Under James Howard, the Hoyas appeared in the WNIT two times. In 2018, the team made an appearance, losing in the second round in 2018 to Duquesne (L66-69) after winning against Delaware (W67-57). In 2019, they made the quarterfinals, losing to James Madison (L44-54) after playing Sacred Heart (W90-59), Harvard (W70-65), and Providence (53-46).
Players in the Georgetown Hall of Fame
Maria V. DeVita (C'80, M'84) : DeVita was the senior captain of the Women's Basketball team in 1980, during which time she made the All Tournament team, was the number one rebounder on the team (and broke the all-time rebounding record once in '77-'78 with 229 and again in '78-'79 with 240 rebounds) and led the Hoyas to their best record yet (21-3). She also played volleyball while on the Hilltop. Her basketball number was 44. After graduating from Georgetown with a B.S. in Biology, DeVita went on to attend Georgetown Medical School. She is now the associate director of nephrology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Abigail Dillon '81
Alyson R. Westbrooks '85
Keilyn T. Wilson '93
Kristin J. Witfill '93
Nadira Ricks '94
Ebiho T. Ahonkhai '97
Notable Alumni
Rebekkah Brunson ('04)
Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers ('13)
