By Michael Frere
The George Washington Revolutionaries (2-1) hosted Georgetown Hoyas (3-1), where they secured their first win over the Hoyas since 2019 in a 78-74 thriller.
After the Revs’ loss to ranked West Virginia University on November 5th, GW looked to bounce back with a win over Georgetown and hand the Hoyas their first loss of the season.
Georgetown jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after winning the tip off, with Winner Bartholomew sinking 2 shots inside the perimeter. George Washington struggled early offensively, but after a Gabby Reynolds lay up the Revs were able to find a groove and take the lead late in the 1st quarter.
The first half was defined by GW’s success at the 3 point line, both offensively and defensively. The Revs made 11 threes in the first half, while forcing Georgetown to settle for tough shots.
Limiting the Hoyas 3 point opportunity came at the cost of foul trouble for GW, allowing Georgetown to shoot 12 free throws in the first half. Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan said, “Our last game we felt that we did not do a good job of defending without fouling. So that was one of our biggest takeaways… anticipating being in the right position and not bailing them out. I did feel like we did that a lot in the 1st half,” about George Washington’s foul trouble in the first.
The second half started with GW’s Alicia Newell finding a rhythm Georgetown was never able to slow down. Newell ended the night with a career high 25 points while also leading the Revs in steals (2) and rebounds (5).
Newell credited her teammates when asked about the performance, saying “I would say a lot that credit goes to my teammates. They were finding me when I was open. They were encouraging me to get downhill… just being aggressive, which got me to the foul line.”
Working together as a team was a clear goal for George Washington going into this game. The Revs won the assist battle 18-11, taking their time to set up plays and look for the open player. GW guard Gabby Reynolds emphasized that “What separates us is just how close we are and connected we are as a team, and just being able to trust each other and rely on each other.”
The Revs defensive cohesion prevented a late game comeback from the Hoyas, who cut the GW lead to only 3 points with 1:19 left in the game. George Washington’s defensive pressure forced Georgetown to miss shots, picking up vital defensive rebounds to seal the game.
The Revolutionaries continue their home stretch on November 14th against Long Island.
