– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — Will “Hoya Paranoia” be unleashed in the Big East Tournament for a second consecutive season? Well, it got off to a real good start on Friday afternoon.
One of the touching storylines of the conference championship season in 2024 was Georgetown’s run to the Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game, as the sixth-seeded Hoyas won three games in three days to give it the chance to play for an NCAA Tournament bid and a conference title against eventual champion Connecticut. Their season started in the most heartbreaking of fashion, as newly-hired head coach Tasha Butts passed away from complications of breast cancer just two weeks before the start of the season, and assistant Darnell Haney was appointed the interim coach. After the team’s semifinal win against No. 21 Creighton, the school’s first win against an AP Top 25 team since 2016, Haney received word that he would be named the full-time head coach, prompting celebrations and tears amongst his players.
This season saw the Hoyas struggle to a 12-18 mark overall and 4-14 in conference play, and they need another magical run in Uncasville to continue their season past the Big East Tournament once again.
That run started in the right way, and in the most dramatic fashion, as Kelsey Ransom’s two free throws with two seconds remaining gave Georgetown, the No. 10 seed in this year’s tournament, a 58-56 victory over No. 7 Providence in the first round. Those two free throws were the last two of Ransom’s career-high 36 points. The Hoyas now head to tomorrow’s second round, where another matchup in the conference tournament against a second-seeded Creighton Bluejays team awaits.
The biggest surprise of the day came in the final contest, as No. 11 Xavier, who finished 1-17 in league play, earned an 80-73 victory over No. 6 DePaul. In the first game of the day, No. 8 St. John’s came back from a five-point halftime deficit to see off No. 9 Butler 66-50. The Red Storm clamped down on defense to seal the victory, holding the Bulldogs to just 17 second-half points and just six in the fourth quarter.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Friday’s first round, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Robert Cole. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are five pictures in total.
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