At this moment in time (-1d9h45m), the GW/University of Rhode Island game is still on for Wednesday (1-12). As far as GW goes, there’s no rest for the weary.

Based on where GW sits in the A10 preseason predictions (at 12 out of 14), there are really no easy outs. There a lot of really good teams at the top of the A10, including URI, who was predicated to finish a close second behind Dayton. URI finished their OOC with a 10-3 record, beating Providence, Princeton, Harvard, and Virginia among others, and had competitive losses against Long Beach State, Holy Cross, and Buffalo. They had their first A10 tilt against Fordham postponed, so GW will be their first conference opponent.

URI is very experienced, usually starting a senior and junior alongside three graduate students. Their roster includes 9 international players, with 5 coming from France. They are led by two players with a French connection: Emmanuelle Tahane, a 6’1” preseason All A10 first team selection who averaged a double-double last year and is close to that this year at 14.6 ppg and 9.8 rpg, while shooting a gaudy 57.4%; and Marie-Paule Foppossi, another 6’1” forward who averages 11.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and 45.4% from the field. Because their inside game has been so strong, they haven’t relied on their outside game as much as other GW opponents, but when they need it, Dolly Cairns comes off the bench to launch three pointers (she has 69 attempts already), and hits 37.7% of them. Cairns is one of 4 players (Dez Elmore, the graduate transfer from Seton Hall, is the other) averaging double figures in scoring. As a team, URI shoots a 43.6% from the field and 33.7% from long range. They score 68.0 ppg, but give up only 52.5 ppg, so they are strong defensive team as well as being efficient offensively.

After having their game with Dayton postponed, GW comes into the game with a record of 7-7. This game poses altogether different challenges than either the Richmond or Dayton teams. Their bigs are not outside threats, but extremely effective inside. If this game is played on Wednesday, it will be hard to determine which GW players will be eligible given the team will be coming out of Covid protocols. To combat URI’s inside game, we need Taiwo and Moore, along with the bench (Ojo, Haydon, Blethen) to be healthy. Also, hopefully this “break” has given Laureano a chance to recuperate. Fingers crossed.