Posted by xAC  11/06/2024 9:56 am | #1 |
Next up: Howard University Bison
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
Time: November 8, 2024; 6PM
Venue: Burr Gymnasium – Washington, DC
2023-24 Record: 15-16 (10-4 in MEAC – 2nd Place)
2025 Projection: 1st (Tied)
Current Record: 1-0
Common Opponents: VCU, St. Joes, American, Morgan State, Coppin State
Last Time Out: 64-58 loss to GW in 2023-24 (at GW)
)Broadcast: ESPN+
Opponent Summary: After a 78-66 opening day win against Delaware, GW travels across town on Friday to face a familiar foe in local rival Howard University at Burr Gymnasium. The Bison are projected to finish at the top (tied for 1st) of the MEAC, after finishing in 2nd place last season. Howard’s best player of recent years, Destiny Howell, returns after sitting out all of last season. She finished the 2022-23 season with a 16.8 ppg average and was selected to the preseason All-MEAC 1st Team for the 2024-25 season. Also selected to the 1st Team was Tyanna Walker, who scored at an 11.3 ppg clip last year. The talented backcourt duo is complemented by a set of experienced front court players that include Nile Miller (6.6 ppg /6.7 rpg), Vanessa Blake (5.2 ppg/5.7 rpg), and Kaiya Creek (7.8 ppg/3.3 rpg). In their opening day victory over Florida A&M, Howell put up 23 points and led the team in rebounding with 6 boards. Creek added 17 points, but Walker was held scoreless.
About the Game: The Bison have most of their key players from last season returning, with the added bonus of a fully healthy Howell. Howard beat Florida A&M in much the same manner as GW defeated Delaware (and both teams won with an identical 78-66 score). Like GW, Howard relied on backcourt scoring complemented by an efficient inside game (the Bison front court reserves shot 10-11 in a combined 49 minutes of play). Howard finished the game shooting 52.6% from the field (including 6-16 from 3-point range). Howard also had turnover issues (22 TOs), and both Howell and Walker have a history of low assist-to-turnover ratios. The Bison were also susceptible to the long ball, allowing the Aggies to score on 8-14 3-point attempts.
From the Revs perspective, this season will turn on how consistently our players can perform. Andrews and Reynolds will be key and it’s great to see young recruits Lewis and Sims getting meaningful playing time. But the bench will have to continue to make positive contributions. At this point, Planes Fortuny coming off the bench for Mott allows the Revs to establish their defense early, before bringing in additional scoring potential. Calisto appears to be a quick athletic guard, and Engel seems to be dialed in. Others (Loving, Matthews, Diala) had limited minutes, and we haven’t seen two of our taller players-- Fotsa and Parnell yet (injury?). The Revs definitely have to improve in a couple of areas, limiting turnovers and hitting a higher percentage of 3-pointers, to make this a game. This contest will be a good early season matchup between two evenly matched teams and an opportunity to further assess the Revs squad.
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Posted by xAC 11/08/2024 8:57 pm | #2 |
Final Result: GW comeback falls short and Revs lose at Howard 69-66.
Due to some misunderstanding (?), ESPN+ did not carry this game. GW opened with the same starting lineup as in the opener against Delaware. The Bison started out hot, hitting a couple of close in shots and a 3-pointer around 3 GW misses to take a quick 7-0 lead ad forcing a GW timeout. Although the defense improved after the timeout, the offense was stagnant and turnovers helped stake the Bison to an 11-2 lead. As the Revs’ offensive woes continued, Howard extended their lead to 17-9 to end the 1st quarter. Andrews led GW with 3 points, all free throws, but was 0-4 from the floor. The 2nd quarter saw better offense by GW, but the defense was unable to contain Howell, allowing the Bison to build a 28-21 lead at the midway timeout. Despite a much better GW offensive (2nd) quarter, Howard was able extend their lead at the half to 35-25. GW shot 37% overall and was just 1-6 from beyond the arc. Reynolds and Mott each tallied 7 points for GW. Howell led Howard with 12 points and Creek had 10. GW came out strong in the 2nd half and a 12-2 run by GW helped to even the score at 37-all with 4:47 left in the quarter. Reynolds and Lewis each had a key 3-pointer during the run. After a competitive four final minutes of play, the quartered ended with both teams knotted at 44 points. In the final quarter, both teams settled in, with the score going back and forth in the early going. At the halfway point of the 4th, Howard led 56-54. In the last 5 minutes of the game, Howard executed more efficiently than the Revs, and pulled out a 69-66 victory. Reynolds led GW with 22 points, while Planes Fortuny and Mott both chipped in with 10 points. Planes Fortuny was huge on the boards with 6 offensive rebounds and 14 boards in all. Howard was led by Howell’s 30 points and Saniyah King’s 14 points.
This was a tough loss for GW, but Howard is one of the better OOC teams that GW will face. Although the shooting was bad (34%), the offense wasn’t, and Andrews will have better days. Reynolds appears to be the real deal, and she’s been productive by letting the come game to her. Like last year, the Bison interior defense was exceptional, blocking 6 shots inside, contributing GW’s low shooting percentage. The outcome could have been altogether different had either of the teams hit their free throw. Both teams were horrendous at the free throw line, with GW missing 16 FTs, 12 in the second half. Howard missed 13 FTs in the game. The bench has to do better, as all 10 of GW’s bench points came from Planes Fortuny. Despite the loss, this was a good contest for the team, especially for the younger players, who will for sure understand the importance of making free throws from this point on. Next up is Virginia University of Lynchburg, an opportunity to work on areas that need improvement, as well as give our bench players some extended run time.
