Final Result: Billikens survive big GW comeback to win 64-63.

Today’s starters are Engel, Lewis, Matthews, Mott, and Sierra-Vargas. Both teams had tentative starts, but were able to muster up some points for a 6-6 tie at the first media timeout. After the timeout, the offensive futility continued for GW, who could only manage 4 points to close out the quarter. A bad GW foul on a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds to play helped stake St. Louis to a 19-10 lead. The first part of the 2nd quarter was a push, with both teams scoring 7 points. At this point, St. Louis was shooting 46% from the field to GW’s 33%, resulting in the 26-17 edge for the Billikens. After the timeout, a 14-8 by for St. Louis ballooned the lead to 40-25 at the half. Going into the break, Calisto led GW with 7 points. Mya Glanton led St. Louis with 11 points, followed by 8 points from Calhoun. To start the 3rd quarter, GW staged a mini-comeback, cutting the lead to 7 points, before a couple of unforced errors let St. Louis increase the lead to 50-39 with 4:46 to go. Reynolds committed her 4th foul early in the period and had to go to the bench. After the timeout, GW pulled to within 5 points on a Calisto 3-pointer, forcing a Billiken timeout with 2:54 left in the period. A buzzer beater by Sierra-Vargas closed the gap to a single field goal at 53-51 going into the final period. With both teams struggling on the floor offensively, GW inched ahead of the Billikens at 57-55 with 4:56 to go in the game. From there the game went back and forth, but critical GW errors at the end of then game helped St. Louis survive and win the game 64-63. Calisto led the Revs with 15 points, followed by Reynolds’ 14 points. For St. Louis, Glanton finished with 17 points and Calhoun chipped in 14 points.

In addition to Planes Fortuny and Andrews being out, Matthews must have gotten injured as she did not return to the game after her 1st minute of play. This really effected the rotation, as GW’s offense was ineffective for most of the half. Besides the missing players, GWs’ problems were compounded by foul trouble, as Lewis, Engel, and Reynolds had to sit out a large portion of the first half. This really hurt the defense, as St. Louis was able to build up a big halftime lead. GW got going in the second half, putting up 38 points to the Billikens’ 24 points, but it wasn’t enough. At the end of the game, the team was hurt by bad clock management and the best they could do to try for the win was an airball 3-point attempt by Lewis as time ran out. And this was after a timeout. Although GW made a game of it, a lot of the team’s issues persist. Careless turnovers and bad shot selection were the main culprits, leading to a 21-2 edge in fast break points for St. Louis. Despite this, it was the questionable judgement by the players on the court and coaching decisions at the end of the game that made the difference. This team has not learned how to play with a lead.

Next week, VCU comes to town, and despite their record so far, they are a better team than the one GW played today.

Last edited by xAC (1/15/2025 10:41 pm)