Photo credit: GW women’s basketball
By Abe Rothstein (@RothsteinAbe)
Following a red hot 3-0 start, women’s basketball seems to have stumbled upon a roadblock. On the back of a stifling defense, the Revolutionaries (3-3) offense has slowed down following a record three point shooting barrage last season.
For many Revs fans, the loss against West Virginia was a similar sight and has many parallels to the men’s loss last year in their first game of an MTE, against a similar power 5 opponent. Wind was taken out of the sails following a crushing loss to West Virginia, a game in which the offense was not able to click until the late stages of the game.
Though for the Revs, the offense immediately struggled on Friday against Southern Illinois, only scoring 10 points in the first quarter, finding themselves down 16-10 early on. Against West Virginia, the Revs were able to hang in the game by getting stops, but this was not the case against the Salukis (3-3), or as the commentator called them time and time again, the souvlakis.
The Salukis would storm out on a 9-1 run, highlighting their offensive prowess as they seemed to have had an answer for every GW basket. No adjustments from the Revolutionaries were able to stop the Salukis, who shot 53% from the field, led by junior forward Laniah Randle, who finished with 22 points and nine rebounds, along with Seairra Hughes. The junior forward finished with 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field.
Going into halftime, the Revs found themselves in a 13 point hole with a chance to crawl back. Following a poor shooting performance against West Virginia, sophomore guard Nya Robertson was one of two Revolutionaries to finish in double figures, as Robertson led the game with 23 points on 9-for-22 shooting from the field. Graduate transfer forward Maren Durant joined Robertson in double figures with 10 points to pair with her 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive side.
The Revs were able to cut the lead down to seven points, but were unable to bring it any closer as the Salukis would take the victory, 66-55, a tough loss after a heartbreaker the night before.
So far on the season, there are some reasons to worry about on the offensive side of the ball, but the season is still young. As of now, the Revs have been averaging only 58.8 points per game, down from almost 65 last season. They are shooting 26.6% from beyond the arc, down from the 33% clip they shot from last season. It is apparent that head coach Caroline McCombs is figuring out the offense, especially with graduate forward Mayowa Taiwo learning a different role at the power forward position with Durant taking most of the time at the center position.
Thankfully for the Revs, the season is young. With all of the experience on the team, they will gel as the season goes on, and at the end of the day, conference play is what matters. Next up is a 12:30 Saturday tip against Charlotte to round out their time in Puerto Rico.
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