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- Registered: 7/22/2019
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GW versus Hampton University Game Thread
Next up: Hampton University Pirates
Conference: Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)
Time: December 21, 2024; 2 PM ET
Venue: Ocean Bank Convocation Center; Miami, FL
2023-24 Record: 3-26 (3-15 in CAA – 12th Place)
2025 Projection: 14th
Current Record: 3-6
Common Opponents: Delaware, Towson
Last Time Out: 46-40 loss to GW in 2023-34 (at Smith Center)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Opponent Summary: On Saturday, GW faces the Hampton University Pirates of the CAA in the second matchup of the Florida International University (FIU) Christmas Classic at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. The Pirates come into Saturday afternoon’s contest with a 3-6 OOC record, following a win earlier this week against to Gardner-Webb and Friday’s loss to tournament host FIU. Although picked to finish last in the MEAC, they are somewhat of an enigma, as they have had some bad losses mixed in with victories that include an overtime win against P5 opponent Georgia in Athens, GA. Hampton is led by Jasha Clinton, a graduate student transfer from Temple, who is the only double-digit scorer for Hampton at 14.1 ppg. Forward Jenae Dublin, adds 9.3 ppg and leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 rpg., while CeCe Thomas pitches in 8.3 ppg. As a team, Hampton scores 59.1 ppg, while allowing 70.6 ppg. The Pirates shoot 38.3% from the field (30.2% from 3-point range) and have an assist-to-turnover ratio of .6.
About the Game: GW, coming off yesterday’s big loss to Miami, has to be leery of Hampton. Although the Pirates have some offensive deficiencies, their pressure defense has forced 21.9 turnovers per game and includes a 32-turnover performance in their win over Georgia. The Pirates have been vulnerable on the inside and may be even more so if Dublin, who did not suit up for the opener, is unable to play. GW’s front court has been inconsistent offensively on the inside, but has to take advantage of this situation. In the FIU game, Hampton allowed the Panthers to make 15 of 26 layup attempts leading to a 40-18 advantage in points-in-the-paint. The Revs need to approach those numbers. Another concern for GW will be the unavailability of players, effecting the chemistry on offense and presenting substitution challenges. Perhaps Mott, who entered the Miami game late in the 3rd quarter, was not at 100% and only called on because of GW’s front court foul trouble, but it also looked like Reynolds lacked energy and was not 100% ready to perform. Regardless of who plays, GW has to limit turnovers, which is a big ask, especially with a shorthanded squad. However, Hampton is also turnover-prone, and if GW can convert some turnovers into easy scores, it could alleviate some of their half court offensive problems. Questionable and out of rhythm shots that lead to transition scores for the opposition have also been problematic for GW— these have to be minimized as well.
The keys to success are pretty obvious, so hopefully, the team is up to the task. GW needs a positive performance heading into the A10 season.
- xAC
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Re: GW versus Hampton University Game Thread
Final Result: GW survives Hampton pressure defense to take 72-69 victory in Florida.
GW starting 5 – Andrews, Lewis, Matthews, Mott, and Planes Fortuny. The Revs again opened the game without a true point guard and as expected, the first few trips on offense were not smooth. GW managed to settle down, and by working the ball inside, took an 8-2 lead at the 5:00 mark of the 1st quarter. After the media timeout, the Hampton press started to bother the backcourt, but The Revs settled in and a buzzer beating 3-pointer by Parnell gave GW a 18-11 1st quarter lead. Both teams struggled on offense to start the second quarter and GW, stymied by missed layups, could only net 6 points going into the official timeout. Hampton was able to cut into the lead as GW could only muster a 24-17 margin at the 4:09 mark. Hampton made a run, but GW managed to close out the quarter with a 30-15 lead. Planes Fortuny had 8 points for GW, followed by Mott’s 6 points. Clinton led all scorers with 10 points for Hampton. Hampton was able to score 11 points off GW’s turnovers to prevent a larger deficit going into the half, while GW held a 20-12 edge in points-in-the-paint. A Hampton flurry to open the 3rd quarter allowed the Pirates to creep back into the game and at the media timeout, GW held just a 35-34 lead with 5:00 to go. Aided by an 8-0 run (all free throws), GW was able to extend to a 50-40 lead going into the final period. After trading scores early in the 4th quarter, GW succumbed to the Pirates’ pressure, allowing them to score easy baskets and tie the score. The final minutes saw multiple trips to the foul line for both teams, but GW was able to prevail and take a 72-69 win. Planes Fortuny led GW with 18 points, while Mott’s huge 16/14 double-double led the way. Clinton led all scorers with 24 points, while Amyah Reaves poured in 15 points for the Pirates.
Concluding the OOC season with a win was important, and there were positives to be taken from today’s effort. The best exhibition of interior passing this season helped our front court dominate in the game and resulted in 16 assists. The scoring was very balanced, with our front court players leading the way, supplemented by Engel (9 points), Reynolds (8 points), and Andrews (8 points). The defense was also really solid when not rushing back in transition. But giving up 25 points off turnovers is too much, and it kept Hampton in the game. Although Matthews did not score a lot, she was the primary ball handler for a good portion of the game and did a good job against the pressure. Parnell, who looks athletic and can handle the ball, also showed that she could provide valuable minutes. Andrews and Reynolds seemed to have more trouble against the pressure, contributing to 40% of GW’s TOs. Lewis had some nice drives, but failed to finish for scores. If GW can clean some of this stuff up and continue to focus on the inside game, they’ll be much improved going into conference play. Lack of a 3-point game is still a huge weakness, but free throw shooting, 24-28 in this game, shows what GW is capable of. So, what happens when the other players (Sims, Calisto, Diala, Sierra-Vargas, Loving) are healthy? What will the conference rotation look like?
Unfortunately, we won’t know much before the La Salle game, coming up in eight days.
Last edited by xAC (Yesterday 8:41 pm)
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Thread Starter- dmvpiranha
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Re: GW versus Hampton University Game Thread
WBB hit 70 points and won the game. The team had 16 assists and moved the ball very well. They also got to the line a lot and made the FTs. Hampton is one of the 50 worst teams in the country (they had a play where they inbounded the ball and then the player threw the ball back to the player standing out of bounds - that is definitely a contender for funniest play I've ever seen in a CBB game) but it was a solid performance. I also saw some attempts to intentionally give Andrews some midrange shots which was nice. Mott and Planes Fortuny dominated Hampton's frontline.
I really wanted to leave it at that and celebrate the performance, but then the last seven minutes happened. I continue to wonder why every team doesn't keep pressing GW for 40 minutes. WBB has no clue how to break a press properly. That's a bad combination when the defense doesn't force too many turnovers on the other end. Multiple times during that final stretch where two players are standing in the same place and run into each other. They run towards the sidelines when bringing up the ball which is exactly what Hampton wanted. At least McCombs called timeout one of the times which is an improvement over previous games. Having said that, there was also one play where she called timeout but GW did not advance the ball. I get that you want the team to learn, but a 4 point game is not when you want to have the team learn.
Parnell looks like she can shoot which provides some optimism moving forward. Lewis had a big bucket on a drive late, but her jump shot is very flat resulting in her hitting the front rim on many jumpers. As xAC mentioned, Andrews and Reynolds have struggled with turnovers. Gabby is just a freshman so she gets a bit of a pass. Makayla needs to be a bit better there - about 2-3 times every game she gets the ball swiped from her which shouldn't be the case for a senior.
Overall, I think conference play comes down to whether GW can continue to not only move the ball, but get to the FT line like they have at FIU. If they can, maybe there's still some hope. It's unlikely that WBB will unshoot many teams from 3 like they did today though.