By Khush Wadhwa
The GW Revolutionaries defeated St. Louis in a nail-biting showdown at the Smith Center on Wednesday.
St. Louis entered their game at the Smith Center with a 5-4 record, having most recently lost to Loyola Chicago. Meanwhile, coach Ganiyat Adeduntan’s Revolutionaries entered the game having defeated Fordham, who are currently second-worst in the A-10. The Revs needed a win desperately entering the second half of conference play.
Both teams shot efficiently in the first quarter, but GW jumped ahead by taking advantage of four early Billiken fouls and five turnovers to enter the first break up 17-12. St. Louis attempted four shots from beyond the arc and only hit their first, while the Revs settled into a paint-heavy system that relied on forwards Sara Lewis and Emma Theodorsson to produce the bulk of their points. Guard Jaeda Wilson also contributed a three-point bucket while guard Kamari Sims added three through a two-point bucket and a successful free throw.
Photo by: GW Athletics
The Revs lost steam between the quarters, however, playing about five minutes of scoreless basketball and allowing St. Louis to take the lead with about 7 minutes in the quarter. Sims broke the dry streak with a quick layup after a Billikens foul. The two teams remained neck and neck during the rest of the foul-heavy quarter, shooting a combined 12 free throws. The teams also traded offensive trends by the end of the half—the Revs attempted more three-pointers in the second but only hit one, while the Billikens improved their field goal percentage and converted twice as many shots as GW in the second. By the end, with the shot clock turned off, St. Louis guard Alexia Nelson drove to the basket and secured a layup, granting the Billikens a three-point lead at halftime.
Guard Gabby Reynolds tied the game back up quickly after halftime with a corner three, though St. Louis’ guard Jahda Denis quickly put the Billikens back in front with a layup. GW secured a pair of offensive rebounds in the third quarter and attempted to recycle them into three-pointers, but failed to convert any. Down five, GW guard Tanah Becker scored a layup and the Revs secured a quick defensive rebound and turned it into a Reynolds three-pointer to tie the game in 35 seconds. However, St. Louis took advantage of a Reynolds turnover to score five in 46 seconds and retake the lead.
St. Louis entered the fourth quarter with a four-point lead. However, with just over six minutes left to play, five points from Sims brought GW their first second-half lead. The Billikens were quick to retake control, however, with a pair of layups bringing their lead back up to three.
Scoring once again remained neck-and-neck, with both teams scoring in bursts and GW down two with under a minute to play. Off a timeout, Reynolds buried a jumper to tie up the game and force a St. Louis timeout. On defense, GW conceded a foul but the Billikens only converted one free throw to take a 62-61 lead. Adeduntan then burned her team’s final timeout to advance the ball, with Lewis scoring a quick layup and drawing a foul, which she converted to take a two-point GW lead.
After using their final timeout, Billikens guard Zya Nugent fired a pass out of bounds into GW’s cheer section. Lacking possession and with the shot clock disabled, St. Louis was forced to foul. Louis missed both free throws, giving the Billikens a chance on the other end to tie the game. In the end, the Billikens committed an offensive foul to turn the ball over and secure victory for the Revs. “It’s a game of runs—who can withstand, who can make the fewest mistakes,” Adeduntan said. “And I’m sure happy that we made the fewest mistakes.”
Even with fans snowed in and unable to make it out to the Smith Center, the Revs created their own atmosphere thanks to a loud and energetic bench. “We’ve gotta create our own energy no matter what,” guard Sarah Lewis said. “When we go away, we’re together. When we’re here, we’re together.”
Adeduntan added on: “We always point the finger at us first. We want to make sure when people come watch us, we give them a product to be excited about. And it was a product they could be excited about tonight.”
The win brings GW to 4-6 in conference play and 12-11 overall. It also marks the first time the Revs have won two straight in conference play. They will travel to Ohio for their next game against Dayton on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on USA Network.
