Final Result: GW loses 7th straight game, falling to UMASS 71-54.

Revs’ starting lineup: Calisto, Engel, Mott, Reynolds, Sierra-Vargas. With Lewis unavailable for GW, Calisto was moved into a starting role. The UMASS press bothered the Revs, and when GW managed to beat it, they blew several transition attempts or settled for 3-point attempts early in the shot clock. A 17-2 run by UMASS staked them to an 18-8 lead with 3:38 left in the 1st quarter. The final moments were a bit better for GW, but they still trailed by a dozen (24-12) at the end of the 1st. The Revs’ 2nd quarter start was much better than the 1st quarter, and they managed to cut 2 points off the lead, trailing at the 4:26 mark 32-22. GW had chances to eat further into the lead, but offensive breakdowns against the press in the waning minutes let UMASS get the lead back up to double digits at 38-28 going into the halftime break. Kulesza, with 11 points had a big half for the Minutewomen. 6’5” Center Chinenye Odenigbo and McKayle each tossed in 8 points. For GW, Reynolds had 8 points, while Dialla and Andrews each added 6 points. GW was back to their careless ways to start the 3rd period, succumbing to the defensive pressure and making one bad pass after another. This allowed UMASS to jump to a 49-32 lead with 6:02 remaining in the quarter. Despite a 13-10 advantage in the final moments of the quarter, UMASS carried a comfortable 59-45 lead into the final period. Two straight baskets by UMASS forced GW to take an early timeout trailing by 18 points. Too little too late, UMASS cruised to a 71-54 win. Andrews led GW with 14 points and Engel added 11 points. For UMASS, Kulesza finished with 17 points and Olbrys posted a 16-10 double-double.

UMASS won the game early, employing a full court press throughout the game and forced GW to play at their pace. Statistically, both offenses were equally efficient, but UMASS won largely because they had 17 more shot attempts at the basket than GW. UMASS was smart to press, but after a disastrous 1st quarter for GW, the Revs found some answers, especially when Reynolds just dribbled through the press. Unfortunately, on several critical occasions after breaking the press, GW was ineffective on transition and bungled numerous opportunities going to the basket. But in spite of all the troubles the team had offensively, it was the defense that decided the outcome of this game. The defense was soft, letting UMASS go to basket at will and not blocking anyone out, resulting in a 36-24 edge in points-in-the-paint, 17 offensive rebounds, and 22 second chance points for the Minutewomen. Lewis, who is likely the Revs’ best defender, was missed, but there’s no excuse for the lack of effort and hustle displayed that helped UMASS get to the offensive boards and control the majority of 50-50 balls. If GW is to have any chance of winning in the remaining half of the A10 schedule, the defense has to be a consistent positive going forward.

St. Joe’s is up next. The Hawks, along with Richmond and George Mason are elite teams in the A10, and to say this will be a tough game is a huge understatement. Hopefully, the team can rally around each other and stay positive, regardless of the outcome of this contest.

Watched a good part of the first half which is the most I've seen of WBB since the Duquesne game. I cannot find one thing this team does well. One moment sticks out - in the first quarter, the team actually managed to break the press from UMass leading to a 2 on 1 fast break opportunity. GW somehow managed to miss the layup. Later in the half, UMass was out in transition, but was 1 on 2. Despite having the advantage defensively, GW committed a foul and Massachusetts made both FTs. It's even the little things like that with this team. I could get into other things but that would be beating a dead horse at this point. To her credit, Engel is continuing to play hard and that is appreciated.

At this point it's pretty much looking forward to whenever the team gets to play Bonaventure followed by the end of the season.