Shorthanded women’s basketball downs Ohio 74-57

By: Liam O’Murchu

A shorthanded women’s basketball team bounced back from their 1-2 Las Vegas trip over Thanksgiving break with a 74-57 win over Ohio on Friday night.

Although the team was missing two starters and two reserves thanks to a flu outbreak, the offense still looked good as GW enjoyed their sixth straight game scoring more than 65 points. The Buff & Blue (5-4) did not get over the 65 point threshold once last season.

“We’ve tried to transition into a new system offensively, but we also have new players that can shoot the three.” GW head coach Caroline McCombs said. “We’ve been working on it with all of our veterans as well. Mia [Lakstigala] is shooting at a very high percentage right now. Jayla [Thronton], that’s what she does. That’s why we brought her here to help us with the three point shooting.”

The first quarter was played at a fast pace with very few stoppages, and it led to an offensive explosion for both teams. GW moved the ball well, registering eight assists on nine made field goals. GW led 23-17 at the end of the first stanza.

GW was paced early by graduate student guard Jayla Thornton, who had 11 points before the first media timeout in her first start this season. Her first four three pointers all came off assists from junior guard Aurea Gingras, also starting her first game of the year. Thornton was red hot from three point range in the early going and finished the first half with 20 points, including 6-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

“The focus lately has been on having my feet set and just staying locked in.” Thornton said. “Knowing that we were down in numbers, I know I have to be as accurate as possible. We all felt that way. So I’m just trying to focus on my shot.”

Although she slowed down after the break, she accumulated a double double, finishing the game with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Both of those figures are highs for her time at GW so far. Although the graduate student who came over from Syracuse hasn’t fully found her stride yet in Foggy Bottom, her shooting ability and maturity have been a great help in GW’s revamped offense.

Both offenses settled in and slowed down in the second quarter. In fact, it began to look a bit sloppy as the teams made unforced errors and committed turnovers. But Thornton continued to score and GW played strong defense (with the exception of a few shooters that got loose around the three point line).

Freshman guard Nya Robertson had a bit of a rough start to the game offensively but got her first points off a mid-range jumper with 22 seconds left in the first half. Then at halftime I think she did some voodoo magic. Or maybe she just remembered that she’s really good at basketball.

“I said ‘no, I can’t just come back home and only have two points.’ I had to go get a bucket.” Robertson said.

Although it was a bit of a sluggish start to the third quarter for GW, Robertson found her rhythm soon enough. And when I say ‘found her rhythm’ I mean that she was GW’s entire offense. She scored 15 straight points for GW to end the third, accounting for 71% of their third quarter points.

Ohio started pressing higher in the second half hoping to force turnovers and it gave GW some issues, especially as the Buff & Blue were missing two of their best ball handlers in graduate student guard Mia Lakstigala and junior guard Asjah Inniss. But GW got a bit creative and figured it out, including utilizing redshirt senior forward Mayowa Taiwo’s good hands and ability to jump higher than her opponents (it sounds dumb but it’s the truth and why she’s such a good rebounder).

Speaking of Taiwo, she was phenomenal after a few quiet games in Las Vegas last weekend. She somehow had an under the radar 10-point, 17-rebound double-double. That’s her first double-double of the season after getting six last year. Taiwo remains GW’s most important player, even with the addition of a few flashy guards that have been getting most of the headlines this season. Her ability to rebound and be a presence down low is astounding and something that is crucial to GW’s success.

Although GW remained in the lead, the Bobcats (2-5) didn’t go into the night quietly. Sophomore guard Yaya Felder was the main scoring option for Ohio and finished with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Nya Robertson continued to dazzle as we got closer to the final buzzer. What mainly caught the eye was her blazing speed and athleticism on the offensive end. But she had a few remarkable defensive plays too, including a stunning block on 6’1 sophomore guard Kate Dennis. Robertson is 5’7.

In only seven games, Robertson has proven that she is legitimately worth the price of admission. Her shotmaking ability, speed and energy makes it hard to take her off the court and the joy with which she plays is infectious. In the second half, Ohio had 29 points. Nya Robertson had 22. All in all, Robertson finished the night with 24 points, three assists, two rebounds and two assists. She is a freshman and she does make freshman mistakes like taking a low quality shot or forcing a pass, but the more time she gets on the court, the better she will look.

Not in uniform tonight for GW was a pretty sizable group of players. As previously mentioned, Lakstigala and Inniss had the flu and did not dress (Inniss wasn’t even on the bench). Other players out sick were sophomore forward Maxine Engel and freshman forward Caia Loving. McCombs said the team had a flu outbreak on their trip to Las Vegas last weekend and were still dealing with the remnants of it. The statuses of the players are still up in the air for the team’s next game, according to McCombs. Still out for GW is senior guard Sheslanie Laureano with a back issue. There is no return date set for her.

Next up for GW is a trip to Fort Worth, Texas for a matchup with 3-4 TCU on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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