Photo Credit: Greg Fiume
By: Solomon Cover
In the first matchup ever between George Washington women’s basketball and Virginia University-Lynchburg, the Revolutionaries routed the Dragons, 89-38, in the Charles E. Smith Center Monday night.
Coming off a loss against Howard last week, GW came out with a slow start in the first quarter, allowing for a 10-0 run which tied the game 23-23 in the middle of the second quarter. GW fought back and responded with a 12-0 run of their own to end the half leading 35-23. The Revolutionaries would never falter from that 12-0 run, outscoring the Dragons 28-6 in the third quarter and 26-9 in the fourth quarter.
Head Coach Caroline McCombs praised her team’s defense following Monday night’s blowout victory.
“One thing at halftime we talked about was holding them to single digits (in the second half),” McCombs said. The Revolutionaries succeeded in their goal, allowing just 15 points in the second half.
Karin Purchas led the VU-Lynchburg Dragons with 10 points, proving difficult for the Revolutionaries to manage in the first half. But after a dramatic defensive shift, the Revolutionaries stifled Purchas and the Dragons’ offense.
“We needed to pick the intensity up, it was a little bit down, and we saw that and we knew what we had to do,” senior guard Makayla Andrews said. Andrews finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in the win.
The GW victory was headlined by a strong first-half performance from first-year star Gabby Reynolds. She controlled the offense in the first half and was notably on the bench during the 10-0 run for the Dragons. Once she checked back in, the Revolutionaries started their run. Reynolds finished with just eight points and three assists, but her impact felt much stronger than the stat sheet.
After a lackluster first half, McCombs was impressed with the second-half performance.
“I was really proud of that second half effort, McCombs said. “We just locked in defensively, took care of the ball, and did the things we’ve been focusing on,”
The star of the game was fellow first-year Miriam Diala, who scored her first collegiate points in her third collegiate career game. She finished with a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Along with Diala, first-years Kyraha Parnell and Morgan Matthews scored their first collegiate career points. Natalia Sierra-Vargas scored her first points of the season on the Revolutionaries’ jubilant night with everyone celebrating every bit of their performance.
Makayla Andrews continues to perform as one of the leading scorers in the young season, averaging just over 16 points a game as the team looks to improve their offense.
“It’s November 11, every team in the country isn’t that great on offense; you’re still gelling and learning,” Coach McCombs said.
GW entered the game following a tight loss to Howard 69-66, in which Makayla Andrews and company struggled to get into a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. That was not the case Monday night as the Revolutionaries poured on 54 points in the second half.
Sophomore Kamari Sims made her first 3-pointers in the Smith Center this season, going 2-5 from deep. Paige Mott nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Sara Lewis struggled to score, going just 1-9, but she’ll try to get back on track this Saturday against Ohio University.
Rebounds were the standout stat for the Revolutionaries, outrebounding the Dragons 61-23. They simply outmuscled and outshot a team that had limited size.
“It can be easy to play down to their level, and I think that’s what we were doing in the first half,” graduate forward Paige Mott said.
GW takes to the road this Saturday as they take on the Ohio University Bobcats. GW should look for the 3 ball early and guard the Bobcats tight on the perimeter. They aim to improve to 3-1 on the season against a Bobcats squad that is 0-2 and has let up over 80 points in both games.
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