GW was soundly beaten by a superior Temple squad 86-50.The first quarter was close, marred only by a needless foul on a 3-point shot to end the quarter. Up to that point, the Revs played outstanding half-court defense and deliberate offense. Shots didn’t fall but the defense was able to prevent easy baskets for scores. At that point, Temple was only 2-17 from the field. After that, things fell apart. The Owls increased the tempo, forcing GW into numerous turnovers and rushed shots that unleashed a slew of easy transition baskets for Temple. The Owls never looked back and, buoyed by their big lead, drained numerous open 3-pointers on their way to a big win.

GW, aside from suffering from a talent deficit, revealed several big vulnerabilities. Offensively, the Revs had trouble coping with Temple’s physicality, which forced bad passes and rushed shots. James, especially, seemed to be thrown off her game, but that's to be expected from a freshman. The transition defense was atrocious, spurred by a helter-skelter offense that left players out of position to protect against the many outlet passes that led to easy scores. The absence of Theodorsson (injury?) for almost three quarters of the game, only served to highlight the deficiencies of the front court, which will be an issue throughout the season.

On the positive side, there were moments when the offense was sparked by good individual play. Sims and Phiri in particular, were not dissuaded by the physical play. Becker played a lot of minutes. Although not polished offensively, she hustled all over the court on defense and did a good job on the boards.

A lots of things to clean up before the Howard game, but this game at least provided a laundry list of things to work on. The process continues.

Last edited by xAC (11/08/2025 6:58 pm)