Posted by xAC  1/01/2024 11:54 am | #1 |
Next up: St. Joseph’s University Hawks (SJU)
Time: January 3, 2024; 7 PM (ET)
Venue: Hagen Arena – Philadelphia, PA
2022-23 Record: 20-11 (9-7 in A10)
2024 Projection: 2nd
Current Record: 12-1
OOC Record: 11-1
A10 Record: 1-0
Common OOC: None
Last Time Out: 77-61 win over GW in 2022-23 (at GW)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Opponent Summary: GW travels to Philly on Tuesday to take on the St. Joseph’s Hawks at Hagen Arena. The Hawks were projected to finish 2nd in the A10 and stand at 12-1, including a 27-point win over Fordham in New York on Saturday. They are the highest rated A10 team in the Massey rankings at #62. Their only OOC loss came at the hands of Utah, who is currently ranked as high as #10 nationally. The Hawks feature a balanced offensive attack with four players scoring in double figures. Forwards Talya Brugler (16.2 ppg) and Laura Ziegler (13.5 ppg and 9.6 rpg) lead the way, while guards Mackenzie Smith (12.2 ppg) and Chloe Welch (11.6 ppg) provide plenty of additional firepower. As a team, St. Joe’s shoots 43.8% from the field and 36.6% from distance, while scoring 68.8 ppg.
About the game: GW played perhaps their best complete game of the season against Richmond on Saturday, only to falter at the end to take a loss. Much like Richmond, St. Joe’s can score from the inside and out effectively with Brugler hitting 58.7% on her 2-point attempts and Smith hitting 47% from beyond the arc. The pair combined for 31 points in last year’s victory over GW. While the Hawks’ offense has not been as effective as Richmond’s, their defense is considerably better. GW’s defense has been consistently strong and the rebounding margin (+8.4) has been excellent, but balanced offenses have given them problems this year. The offense still struggles at times. On the positive side, the shot distribution is improving with Brown (3-9), Innis (4-13), and Lok (4-12) complementing Robertson. However, our 38.8% field goal accuracy (30% from 3-point range) is leaving critical points off the scoreboard. In the Richmond game, GW had 7 inside attempts blocked (most were ill-advised drives) and missed a few too many open shots.
St. Joe’s on the road following the Richmond opener is a tough way to start the A10 campaign. Although both games provide good measures of GW’s level of capability, conference success this season will most likely hinge on GW’s ability to increase their offensive efficiency, especially in the waning minutes of closely contested games.
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Posted by xAC 1/03/2024 9:30 pm | #2 |
Final Result: St. Joe’s runs away from GW in the 2nd half and wins in a rout 67-47.
The Revs started off well, hitting their open looks and playing to a 9-9 draw with the Hawks in the first 5 minutes of the game. GW’s offense cooled off after the media timeout and St. Joe’s was able to get some easy looks inside to take an 18-14 lead going inro the 2nd period. GW got back on track to tie the Hawks at 22 in the early going of the 2nd quarter. Brown scored on a couple of nice drives inside to lead the way. After getting the better of the Hawks for the first 8:30 of the 2nd period, GW got a little careless and let St. Joe’s recapture their 4-point (31-27) margin at halftime. At this point Lok led GW scorers with 13 points and Robertson had yet to hit a field goal. After GW hit a 3-pointer to start the 3rd, the wheels fell off and St. Joe’s went on a 16-0 run. The end of 2nd quarter offensive woes had followed the Revs into the 2nd half. On the other end, The Revs had no answer for Brugler and Ziegler on the inside and St. Joe’s ran out to a 20-point 52-32 lead after 3 quarters. GW perked up to start the 4th, especially Robertson, who scored 8 quick points, forcing a Hawks’ timeout. Still, it was an uphill climb with St. Joe’s holding onto a 56-42 lead at that point. After order was restored, St. Joe’s got the final lead back up to 67-47 to end the game.
GW was victim to a 21-5 3rd quarter that decided the outcome of the game. Brugler and Ziegler were unstoppable inside, combining for 39 points, and both were assisted by great entry passes from their teammates. The Revs’ offense was shutout for almost 7 minutes of the 3rd quarter, mostly because of careless and rushed offensive play. Once again, GW was not able to sustain a high level of performance for 4 quarters. GW’s defense forced St. Joe’s to work for their scores, but time and again, the Hawks’ got easy baskets inside with the shot clock winding down. Outside of the 1st quarter, GW’s offense was not fluid and resulted in a lot of difficult and contested shots. Lok who had 16 points, was the only GW player more than 10 attempts. Robertson finished with 10 points.
Duquesne (on January 10) is up next. Already 2-0 in the A10 with a Sunday contest versus George Mason coming up, they provide GW with the next opportunity to win their first A10 contest. Duquesne is not in the same class as Richmond or St. Joe’s, but there aren’t any easy outs in the A10 for GW this year.
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Posted by gwstudent2024 1/04/2024 12:32 am | #3 |
https://gwradio.com/womens-basketball-undone-by-lousy-3rd-quarter-in-loss-to-st-joes/
Awful third quarter. This team just cannot seem to play a complete game. Not enough out of Robertson until it didn't matter. Although I must say I was impressed with the defense (especially early on)
