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1 of 1- xAC
- Buff & Blue Club
Offline - From: Alabama
- Registered: 7/22/2019
- Posts: 645
GW @ George Mason Game (2)
GW heads to Fairfax on Saturday to meet the George Mason Patriots in the second regular season meeting between the two local rivals. Last time out, a slow start and bad finish by GW contributed to a 59-46 Patriots victory. Despite holding GMU to just 32.8% shooting from the field, 24 Revs turnovers and a 7-19 disadvantage in offensive rebounds allowed the Patriots to fire up 25 more shot attempts than GW. Zahirah Walton hurt the Revs inside the paint and finished with 21 points. Kennedy Harris added 14 points for GMU. For GW, Lewis and Phiri each tallied 10 points. The Patriots enter the contest alone in 2nd place in the A10 at 13-2, and 18-8 overall. Walton and Harris lead the way for GMU, scoring at 17.5 ppg and 13.4 ppg, respectively. Walton is also second on the team in rebounding at 5.6 rpg behind Hawa Komara, who pulls down 8.1 boards per game. As a team, the Patriots average 67 ppg, while giving up 60.3 ppg.
After defeating Richmond, GW comes into this game with a lot of confidence, but must be mindful that their prevailing weaknesses (turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds) play into George Mason’s strengths. GMU leads the A10 in forcing turnovers (19 per game) and are 3rd in offensive rebounds at 13.5 per game. Despite the Patriot’s size and physical play, GW’s half court defense can hold their own, but has to limit GMU’s second chances. That means keeping Komara and Walton off the offensive glass. On the offensive side, GW has to limit the turnovers that can be converted into easy transition opportunities-- turnovers resulting from careless ball handling and misguided passes. The Patriot’s 21-2 dominance in points-off-turnovers in the first game can’t happen again. Coach G seems to have settled on an eight player rotation that has not included Loving, Phiri, or Calisto, but they need to be ready, as this will be a physical game and fouls could become an issue. Lewis and Reynolds especially, have to stay out of early foul trouble. This is a big game, but all the pressure is on George Mason, who has to win to have a chance for the regular season A10 title. For GW, this game is great preparation and experience for the upcoming A10 tournament.
Round 2 against Saint Bonaventure is on deck next Wednesday at the Smith Center.
- Poog
- Buff & Blue Club
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- Posts: 358
Re: GW @ George Mason Game (2)
Calisto has been in street clothes so I suspect whatever her injury was that kept her out but for a few appearances is still an issue. Loving has been spotted some and playing a little more than she had earlier. Phiri is the one who has lost significant minutes and Theodorsson is playing a lot less than I would expect given how she has and is performing.
- xAC
- Buff & Blue Club
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- From: Alabama
- Registered: 7/22/2019
- Posts: 645
Re: GW @ George Mason Game (2)
George Mason coasts to 67-52 win over GW.
Despite some initial turnover issues, the Revs were able to recover and trail by only 21-17 in the 1st quarter. In the 2nd quarter, the Revs’ offense faltered and GMU was able to widen the gap, going into the halftime break ahead by a 37-26 margin. The GW defense was solid, but Walton was able to draw fouls, and despite going just 3-10 from the field, her 5-5 from the free throw line helped her lead the Patriots with 11 1st half points. Harris and Mary Amoateng added 8 points each. For GW, Reynolds was the only effective scorer, netting 9 points on 4-7 shooting. The rest of the team was just 5-21 from the field. Although the Revs had only 6 turnovers in the half, they were of the worst variety, paving the way for a Patriot’s 10-0 advantage in points-off-turnovers. GW was able to play the Patriots pretty evenly in the 2nd half, but couldn’t put a dent in the lead. Walton took over for the GMU offense and finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds. She had help from Harris and Amoateng, who finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Reynolds was only 1-5 in the 2nd half, but still led GW with 11 points. Wilson added 9 points.
From the outset, George Mason’s defense had the GW offense out of sync and the Revs could not recover. Unlike Richmond, the Patriots’ physical presence bothered the Revs, and except for Reynolds play in the 1st half, no Revs’ player could get untracked offensively. On the occasions that the Revs worked for open looks, many of the shots didn’t drop and GW finished the game shooting just 35% from the field. Defensively, they had trouble containing the stronger and more athletic Patriots’ players, but most of the damage was done in transition as GMU held a 20-2 advantage on points-off-turnovers, and even more telling, a 16-0 edge on fast break points. On the other side of the court, GW could rarely get an easy score. Maybe the Richmond game took a toll, because the Revs also appeared to lack the energy they had in the previous game. Regardless, GW has to look for ways to fix their turnover issues and turn their solid half court defensive stops into opportunities for victories-- something to work on for next season. On a positive note, Dulin did look good in her 11 minutes on the court, finishing with 5 points on two difficult inside shots and a free throw.
Saint Bonaventure visits the Smith Center on Wednesday, so the Revs have an opportunity to bounce back in front of a friendlier crowd.
Last edited by xAC (Yesterday 5:36 pm)
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