GW falters in 4th quarter, loses defensive battle to Chicago Loyola 53-48.

In a game that swung back and forth, the Chicago Loyola team prevailed to take the win. After going down by as many as 10 points early, GW finished the 1st quarter down 15-6. The Revs rallied in the 2nd period to knot the game at 27-all going into half time. While Loyola took the early lead on the strength of Alexus Mobley’s 13 1st half points, GW leaned on their inside game in the second quarter to tie the game. Baskets in the paint by Lewis, Sims, Reynolds, and Phiri led the way. The 2nd quarter momentum continued for GW in the 3rd quarter, as they built an 8 point lead, but Loyola was able to close the period on a 5-point run to inch to within a single possession (38-35) going into the final quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Loyola defense took over as GW, on possession after possession, was easily able to break the Ramblers’ full court press, but turned over the ball with careless passes in the halfcourt that allowed Loyola to get some scores and take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. GW had an opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but had the inbounds pass stolen to end their chances. Mobley finished with 19 points, but Kinas, who had 7 steals, was the difference maker. Lewis tallied 15 points and 9 rebounds for GW before fouling out late in the 4th quarter. Sims and Reynolds both chipped in 9 points.

This was a game GW probably should have won. Too many unforced errors came back to haunt the Revs, and although they outplayed Loyola in most aspects of the game, it was the 15-9 difference in points-off-turnovers that determined the outcome. Lewis continues to get better, leading an inside attack that yielded a 58.6% success rate on 2-point shots. Unfortunately, the Revs could only manage 2-18 from beyond the arc, and an uncharacteristic 8-15 from the free-throw line. Not enough to overcome 17 turnovers. Especially egregious are the live-ball weak and errant passes to teammates not ready to receive them. It’s an area that hasn’t improved greatly, but must, in order to keep competitive with other A10 teams. Also, the Revs have to find a way to get off to better starts offensively. Low scoring 1st quarters are more typical than not of late, forcing GW to claw their way back into games and expending a lot of energy, which may account for the Rev’s drop-off in performance at the end of games. This week’s tape should provide a lot fodder for preparing for the next game.

GW will jump it up again on Wednesday against VCU in Richmond, a really tough place to win.

Last edited by xAC (1/17/2026 5:03 pm)

BC wrote:

I think I'm getting tired of following both basketball teams.  What is it now? 10 years for the men at least of mediocre basketball and 6+ years of the same from the women.   It's awfully tiring for an old man.

BC – I hear ya....

Sometimes I shudder as I watch (either team), but then I remember those days before the Smith Center when I drove to Fort Myer for every game, and I made sure my car was always full. And we always had a blast. And up until 1993, I never missed a home game. After leaving the DC area, I could only see GW play on the rare occasions that were on national TV, but recently, thanks to sports streaming apps like ESPN+, I can regularly follow the teams, as depressing as it may be at times. But NIL and the portal have changed things drastically, so winning or losing isn’t a big deal with me these days. Because this board has enough “expertise” on the men’s side, I focus on WBB. I was optimistic when Rizzotti was hired, a little bit puzzled by McCombs, and not sure about Coach Adeduntan. The past has tested our patience to the point of tiredness as you suggest, but in Coach G’s case, it’s too early to have any unreasonable expectations. I do think that this year’s team (with about the same talent level as last year) is playing much better than last year’s version. They play defense well. They are a work-in-progress offensively, but they are improving, and the individual development of the returning players (Lewis, Reynolds, and Sims) has been apparent.

I think next year will be a bigger test for Coach G. Can she take GW to the top 5 of the A10? And, can she keep players in a GW uniform? Attrition is a big issue for mid-major programs, and it’s obvious in the A10, where the majority teams are struggling like GW. Another reason I support the team is because I appreciate the women who stayed at GW all 4 (or 5) years to represent our school. Essence Brown, Mayowa Taiwo, Maxene Engel, Faith Blethen, Caia Loving, etc. -- I really want to root for them. So, I really hope this year’s squad has bought in, and we see them all come back next year.

Next year may seem like a long wait, but we’ve been going at this for so long BC, what’s another year? Also, since WBB doesn’t have such a great following on this site anyway, I’d hate to lose a loyal reviewer. 😊
 

xAC, I agree it's much too early to judge Coach G, and I have seen encouraging signs about the growth of the team.  But as you pointed out, The now power 4 conferences, the transfer portal, the NIL and probably gambling have destroyed the college athlete that we remember and could well have insured that GW may never see another great team.  I'll probably get excited about next year's teams and care again. Both teams. 

I think Loyola's coach is probably the weakest of all the coaches on the WBB side in the A10, so it certainly felt like a bad loss. I noticed they have Adam Call on staff, who was previously at GW under McCombs so perhaps that gave them an upper hand with the scouting. On the other hand, there's not really any must win games in year 1 under a new coach. I think the fact that I feel this next stretch of games is winnable is a credit to how much this team has grown under Coach G since the first couple weeks in the year when the team was getting killed. I am already more optimistic about this team than I was about WBB at any point last year.

It felt GW ran some good plays offensively, but the execution wasn't there. The spacing in the first quarter was rough, and some of the passes were overthrown. For the season, this team is shooting the ball better than I thought they would (they are top 200 in offensive efficiency on Bart Torvik), but the makeup of the roster still results in long scoring droughts which can hurt the team. Also, in pretty much every game it feels like GW is the shorter team by quite a bit. Nothing really stood out about Loyola, but they certainly looked bigger up front. Even against the weakest teams, the other team has bigger forwards than the Revs. I'm sure Coach G will address all those things in the offseason. Her teams have been good at winning the turnover margin (taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers) while she was at Colgate, she just doesn't have her players right now. Phiri is one of the few players recruited under the new staff, and she already looks like one of the better players. Until Coach G has her players, certain positive plays (like when GW forced a turnover off a trap just before halftime) is the kind of thing I am looking for.

Of course, player development over the course of the season will always be welcomed. As mentioned in the posts above, GW plays far too slowly on offense to excuse 17 turnovers in a game. Sara has been playing at a really high level lately. I like Jaeda Wilson as a bigger ball handler, but multiple times on defense yesterday she did not keep her hands up when defending. Tanah Becker is still finding herself on offense - a couple missed layups I'm sure she'd like back. The biggest key on offense of course comes down to Gabby. She's at the top of every scouting report, and the next step in her development is being able to score more off-ball and not always have to create for herself. It feels like every time Reynolds is dribbling behind the arc lately the defense knows what's about to happen and she gets her shot blocked.