Posted by xAC  11/08/2022 7:47 pm | #1 |
Next up for GW are the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore (UMES) (Lady) Hawks on Thursday Evening. UMES plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). In 2021-2022, UMES finished 12-16 (7-7 in MEAC play) with notable wins against Navy and Howard. They also had a couple of competitive losses to A10 opponents LaSalle and Richmond. In their only tilt of this season, they were overwhelmed by Miami of the ACC 83-51 on the U’s home court (sound familiar?). They have some height on their bench, but only Aiana Seawell (Third Team MEAC last year as a Freshman) at 6’2” starts. She had 9 pts and 7 rebs versus Miami. The bulk of UMES scoring came from the backcourt, led by Zamara Haynes, who had 11 pts.
MEAC teams tend to like to run, so it will be interesting to see how our offense and defense adjusts after getting blown off the court by UVA at the end of our last game. Although we’ve added some offensive capability, it seems to have affected our D, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments are made by the coaching staff and how our team identity evolves as the season progresses.
So far, no one stands out as the floor leader, painfully apparent as our coaches also seemed to be AWOL during Q4 of the first game. We need someone to control the tempo of the game depending on the specific situation at the time. We started 4 guards (Brown, Innis, Lakstigala, and Thorton) and Taiwo, but the entire backcourt seems to have come out of the gates with a” score first” mentality, resulting in scant few opportunities for Taiwo to work inside. It’s hard at this time to tell who can rise to the occasion, but hopefully, we’ll get to see Engel and Gingras get some PT in this game, and Loving and Laureano can come back soon. We could use Loving’s size and especially Laureano’s defense.
As this is a work in progress, for now, every game is a test.
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Posted by PKGW 11/10/2022 8:10 pm | #2 |
Looks like a 15 pt win. Lots of playing time for the end of the bench. No one over 25 min I think. Nice home opener to get rid of the bad memories of the Monday 2nd half.
Posted by BC  Online!11/10/2022 8:29 pm | #3 |
First 3 qtrs were great. I may dream (nightmareishly) about that 4th qtr.
Last edited by BC (11/10/2022 8:30 pm)
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Posted by dmvpiranha 11/10/2022 9:18 pm | #4 |
We played at a much better pace today which definitely helped with the defense. Much better rebounding today as well. Really liking the depth this year compared to last year. Can maybe go 12 deep when Sheslanie and Maxine get back from injury.
Some other thoughts:
- We generated a number of open shots but were still not always able to connect on them. Still, spacing is significantly better from last year.
- The team only shot 5 FTs all game. While there were mostly good shots taken, would like to be more aggressive attacking the hoop. Thought we started to do that a little in the third quarter/early fourth but it was inconsistent.
- Mia is really good on offense, but sometimes has lapses on defense. She is good at creating for herself, but we could probably play her more off the ball at times.
- Mayowa should be rewarded for battling down low by being given more opportunities on offense. We had some good moments passing in the post, but need to continue to improve there. That led to many of the turnovers.
- Taylor had a solid game, thankfully not in foul trouble today.
- Essence looks so much more confident shooting the ball, and it's nice to see that there are better playmakers around her so she gets many open shot attempts that she can knock down. Also had 5 assists with some great finds in the halfcourt.
- Asjah might not have scored, but has a great feel for the game. Throwing it ahead to Essence earlier in the game sticks out as a memorable play.
- So stoked to have Nya Robertson on the squad. Just so confident and plays with a lot of swagger. Probably needs to slow down a bit at times, but overall makes good decisions.
- I thought Jayla was going to be counted on as a go-to option offensively this year, but so far she's been a bit volume dependent/inefficient. Got/took mostly good shots, just needs to knock the down. Perfect opportunity in a "revenge" game against Howard on Monday.
- Faith has a good touch near the rim and is a strong offensive player. The fact that there is more room to operate on the floor (more threats offensively) will really help her game compared to last year. Need more scoring in the post apart from Mayowa/Taylor and she helps a lot there.
- Nya Lok brings good energy and rebounded well but is still a bit inconsistent as a scorer. She had a layup earlier in the game that should have probably been made.
- Glad to see Aurea back to calm the team down when we get a bit erratic. Showed good leadership during a timeout talking to Robertson when she didn't come towards the ball when Mia was double teamed in the backcourt during the 4th quarter. Gingras seems to be passing better compared to previous years and is playing at a better pace overall. Probably could have had like 10 assists had others knocked down their shots.
Overall, really think this team can surprise though hopefully we continue to progress offensively. Feel like we probably should have hit 70 today but overall played well.
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Posted by xAC 11/10/2022 11:30 pm | #5 |
GW beats UMES 65-50
Besides winning, the best part of this game was watching a lot of the bench players for extended minutes. I think maybe any of the first eight players could be starters (and that’s not counting Engel, Loving, and Laureano). That’s a good thing. We got to see various combinations of players with varying degrees of success.
Our returning players (from last year’s team) played under control and had good games. It was great to see Brown’s shots go down (12 pts on 5-6 shooting); Taiwo, as we always expect, was all over the court (9 boards and 2 steals); Blethen was patient and let the game come to her for her best game in a while (10 pts); and Lok’s rebounding in the fourth quarter (6 rebs) helped to keep UMES at bay. Webster was steady and finished with 9 pts, but she has to cut down on TOs. And Gingras didn’t force things and looked every part the floor leader.
For the new players, it was mixed bag. Lakstigala had a nice scoring game (11 pts), but also had 5 TOs. She’s only a fair ball handler and made some bad passes when pressed. Thornton was 2-9, the result of several questionable shots. Innis didn’t score, but did have 4 asts. Robertson had a good all-around game (10 pts, 5 rebs, and 4 asts) but at times played like the freshman she is-- but her potential has to make you smile.
As far as the game, it was UMES' inability to hit 3’s (1-17) that did them in. It was not so much because of our defense as much as they just didn’t hit them. Their guards were quick, and they were able to score on the inside (they had 20 pts in the paint to our 22). They also went 13-13 from the free throw line. In the 4th quarter, although there was a bad stretch, our bench played UMES’ first team pretty even (we lost the quarter 23-20). Both Brown and Taiwo sat out the entire quarter.
It’ll be the coaches’ challenge (especially when everyone is healthy) to figure out which combinations to play depending on specific game/opponent situations, but you have to like the pieces we have to work with. Outside of the walk-ons (and we haven’t seen Loving yet), everyone has the potential to be a significant contributor.
Monday's game against Howard, another MEAC team, will be a stiffer test.
Last edited by xAC (11/10/2022 11:32 pm)
