PHILADELPHIA – Coach Jonathan Tsipis’ debut season at the helm of the Colonials saw many high notes, and though the final game, a 74-49 loss to a nationally-ranked Dayton Flyers team, was not one of them, this team was able to get their most wins since 2009, give outgoing graduate students Sara Mostafa and Tara Booker their first postseason win, and set themselves up for a busy spring.
Booker pulled down eight boards and led the way for GW with 12 points. Senior guard Shi-Heria Shipp also scored in double figures with 11, and her boards helped GW win that battle 39-34. Mostafa, though not particularly successful shooting, was able to get seven rebounds of her own.
The Dayton Flyers (27-1, 14-0 Atlantic 10) proved a bit too much for the Colonials (14-16, 8-8 Atlantic 10) to handle in a rematch of an 80-51 Dayton win in Ohio earlier this season. GW kept things close until Dayton was able to go on a 15-2 tear to end the half, which included a transition three from guard Andrea Hoover. Transition scoring was key, especially early on for Dayton. The Flyers’ phenomenal ability to hit stop-and-pop jumpers in transition fueled the Flyers and set them up to have a 43-21 lead at the half.
Coach Tsipis was keenly aware of Dayton’s quickness, noting that “Dayton’s way too good of a team…to be half a step slow.” They got beaten down the court by just enough on several occasions to allow easy baskets. Dayton would lob the ball down the court as opposed to bringing it down traditionally, especially in the first half, which would give their shooters a few extra steps.
The blistering speed of Dayton slowed down a bit in the second half, allowing the Colonials to keep the Flyers from really flying away. The 22-point deficit did not shrink by much, but GW kept the deficit under 25 in the first fifteen minutes of the half.
“That was a tough mountain to come back from,” said Tsipis about the deficit. He was impressed in his team’s ability to play this talented Dayton team close. Offensively, GW was often forced to pass several times to get clean looks at the basket. “They were the aggressor,” said Tsipis. “We took a lot of shots at the end of the shot clock, I think that just revs up their transition game.” Dayton recorded 11 blocks, led by forward Jodie Cornelie Sigmundova with five. Guards and forwards alike were being stopped by the bigs inside by Dayton.
The Colonials finish the season with a loss, but they have a lot to be proud of. Check back to this site later in the week for a full recap of GW’s season.
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