Posted by GW Alum Abroad  11/25/2020 6:14 pm | #1 |
ESPN won´t let me watch the game from this locale but the Women held Lincoln to two (2, dos, one+one) points in the second quarter. Lincoln shooting under 20% from the floor (hello Saint Louis!!!!!)
I´d rather have a quarter than 25 pennies, and five dollar bills than a fiver.
Last edited by GW Alum Abroad (11/25/2020 6:15 pm)
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Posted by GW Alum Abroad 11/25/2020 6:29 pm | #2 |
After three, the Women lead 36-20.
Worth noting GW is 1-20 from behind the arc (and Lincoln is 1-10). With teams shooting a combined 2-30 from three, the refs should just give a technical to anyone attempting to further befoul the sport with a shot from behind the arc...
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Posted by xAC 11/25/2020 8:26 pm | #3 |
GW wins 53-38, but difficult to assess the caliber of the opponent. Lincoln is a D2 school, but regular championship contender in their league. Also, GW only suited up seven players (Taiwo, Zambrotta, Perea, and Macke out)-- no explanation or details.
Just a few observations:
We had a 7 person rotation and no-one looked overmatched, so I think team will have more quality depth than last year (barring injuries!)
Lincoln full court pressed most of the game, but our PGs (Whitney and Gingras) handled it well, having only 1 TO between them. Their play set up numerous good looks at the basket, but we just missed too many of them 
Luma is back. Great to see her, and she looks to be in great physical shape with a lot of spring in her step. She was all over the court in the first half (reminded me of Taiwo in how she went after the ball). She had 14 boards in the first half and finished with 16 pts and 17 rebs.
Ali Brigham's debut. Had some ups and downs (foul trouble), like freshman are apt to do, but she looks like she could be the force inside we need. When they were in together, she freed Luma up for a number of good looking jumpers.
The other players, Loder, Brown, and Blethen all had some good moments, especially in key stretches, but as a team, we missed too many open shots tonight (finished at 32% from the field).
On paper, the defense looked good (held Lincoln to 19% from the field), but again can't tell how much of that was the caliber of the opponent.
Saturday versus ODU may be a better gage; also, hopefully some of the other players are available.
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Posted by dmvpiranha 11/25/2020 11:56 pm | #4 |
While I would have liked to see some more shots fall, I thought the Women's team looked pretty solid. I too was wondering why a few key pieces did not suit up. Was there anything reported on that? Even if it was against D2 competition, I think we could finish middle of the pack in the A10 this year. Was a bit nervous in the early part of the fourth quarter where it looked like Lincoln was starting to show some aggression driving to the hoop and getting to the line, but we did answer nicely later on and shots finally started to fall. I think a bit more shooting is the only thing keeping this team from being a true contender in the league - someone who can play the designated sniper role on the team like Shannon Cranshaw.
The Women's team seemed like an inverse of the Men's team - the forwards might be the strength of the team. I really like the frontcourt tandem of Neila and Ali. Both were very effective. Neila was fantastic and the clear standout on the offensive end. You better not give her room offensively because her shots will be nothing but net in the midrange! Ali showed a lot of skill down low in her first game. She will continue to improve on finishing her shots with time, but am very excited about her potential. I think the team fared well defensively - I saw a lot more Mayhem out of them than the Men's side for sure.
I think we have improved at the point compared to last year. Both Jasmine and Aurea were very composed and steady handling the rock. Jasmine started finding her groove in the fourth quarter after several shots rimmed out early on. I think Aurea had some jitters on some of her shots, but liked her toughness on defense. I thought Tori's departure would end up being a big loss, but we may have found suitable replacements here.
The three point shooting wasn't quite on the mark today, but Faith and Essence started connecting on some shots in the second half. Maddie's shot was a bit off today, but I think she will be fine and continue to be a go-to option from there.
I agree that depth should be better this year, and may be bolstered even more if Gabby gets her waiver approved. Still crazy to me that the NCAA is still working to hand out waivers even after the season starts. Just grant everyone eligibility this year!
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Posted by BookGuy 11/26/2020 6:03 am | #5 |
Just a idle question, what happened to Lexus Levy who is a senior this year?
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Posted by Poog 11/26/2020 7:42 am | #6 |
There was one shot of the bench during a timeout where I saw Zambrotta wearing what looked to be a large soft bandage over her middle finger. Didn’t notice whether it was her off hand or her left shooting hand because I was so taken with the green color on what looked to be one of those foam “we’re #1” fingers. Lexi is no longer on the team. Don’t believe the other injuries, whatever they are, are expected to be long-term. Everyone seems to be getting their waiver requests approved so hopefully Gabby will get her playing clearance once the holiday slow down is over. No guarantee of approval but the added backcourt depth this year would be welcome. Off-court bonding over social issues appears to have forged a tight knit camaraderie among the players. However, struggles behind the arc continue to plague the offense. Props to Rizzotti for managing the minutes of her depleted roster. It seemed like her studs were on the bench far too long but the final stats showed the 4 mainstays were in most of the time. Still believe this team is being underestimated but for once I’d like to see them go through the season with everyone available to verify that impression.
Last edited by Poog (11/26/2020 7:43 am)
