Next up:                               Howard University Bison
Conference:                        Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
Time:                                   November 8, 2024; 6PM
Venue:                                 Burr Gymnasium – Washington, DC
2023-24 Record:                 15-16 (10-4 in MEAC – 2nd Place)
2025 Projection:                 1st (Tied)
Current Record:                 1-0
Common Opponents:        VCU, St. Joes, American, Morgan State, Coppin State
Last Time Out:                    64-58 loss to GW in 2023-24 (at GW)
)Broadcast:                         ESPN+ 

Opponent Summary: After a 78-66 opening day win against Delaware, GW travels across town on Friday to face a familiar foe in local rival Howard University at Burr Gymnasium. The Bison are projected to finish at the top (tied for 1st) of the MEAC, after finishing in 2nd place last season. Howard’s best player of recent years, Destiny Howell, returns after sitting out all of last season. She finished the 2022-23 season with a 16.8 ppg average and was selected to the preseason All-MEAC 1st Team for the 2024-25 season. Also selected to the 1st Team was Tyanna Walker, who scored at an 11.3 ppg clip last year. The talented backcourt duo is complemented by a set of experienced front court players that include Nile Miller (6.6 ppg /6.7 rpg), Vanessa Blake (5.2 ppg/5.7 rpg), and Kaiya Creek (7.8 ppg/3.3 rpg). In their opening day victory over Florida A&M, Howell put up 23 points and led the team in rebounding with 6 boards. Creek added 17 points, but Walker was held scoreless.
 
About the Game: The Bison have most of their key players from last season returning, with the added bonus of a fully healthy Howell. Howard beat Florida A&M in much the same manner as GW defeated Delaware (and both teams won with an identical 78-66 score). Like GW, Howard relied on backcourt scoring complemented by an efficient inside game (the Bison front court reserves shot 10-11 in a combined 49 minutes of play). Howard finished the game shooting 52.6% from the field (including 6-16 from 3-point range). Howard also had turnover issues (22 TOs), and both Howell and Walker have a history of low assist-to-turnover ratios. The Bison were also susceptible to the long ball, allowing the Aggies to score on 8-14 3-point attempts.
 
From the Revs perspective, this season will turn on how consistently our players can perform. Andrews and Reynolds will be key and it’s great to see young recruits Lewis and Sims getting meaningful playing time. But the bench will have to continue to make positive contributions. At this point, Planes Fortuny coming off the bench for Mott allows the Revs to establish their defense early, before bringing in additional scoring potential. Calisto appears to be a quick athletic guard, and Engel seems to be dialed in. Others (Loving, Matthews, Diala) had limited minutes, and we haven’t seen two of our taller players-- Fotsa and Parnell yet (injury?). The Revs definitely have to improve in a couple of areas, limiting turnovers and hitting a higher percentage of 3-pointers, to make this a game. This contest will be a good early season matchup between two evenly matched teams and an opportunity to further assess the Revs squad.