Posted by xAC  1/11/2022 9:12 am | #1 |
At this moment in time (-1d9h45m), the GW/University of Rhode Island game is still on for Wednesday (1-12). As far as GW goes, there’s no rest for the weary.
Based on where GW sits in the A10 preseason predictions (at 12 out of 14), there are really no easy outs. There a lot of really good teams at the top of the A10, including URI, who was predicated to finish a close second behind Dayton. URI finished their OOC with a 10-3 record, beating Providence, Princeton, Harvard, and Virginia among others, and had competitive losses against Long Beach State, Holy Cross, and Buffalo. They had their first A10 tilt against Fordham postponed, so GW will be their first conference opponent.
URI is very experienced, usually starting a senior and junior alongside three graduate students. Their roster includes 9 international players, with 5 coming from France. They are led by two players with a French connection: Emmanuelle Tahane, a 6’1” preseason All A10 first team selection who averaged a double-double last year and is close to that this year at 14.6 ppg and 9.8 rpg, while shooting a gaudy 57.4%; and Marie-Paule Foppossi, another 6’1” forward who averages 11.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and 45.4% from the field. Because their inside game has been so strong, they haven’t relied on their outside game as much as other GW opponents, but when they need it, Dolly Cairns comes off the bench to launch three pointers (she has 69 attempts already), and hits 37.7% of them. Cairns is one of 4 players (Dez Elmore, the graduate transfer from Seton Hall, is the other) averaging double figures in scoring. As a team, URI shoots a 43.6% from the field and 33.7% from long range. They score 68.0 ppg, but give up only 52.5 ppg, so they are strong defensive team as well as being efficient offensively.
After having their game with Dayton postponed, GW comes into the game with a record of 7-7. This game poses altogether different challenges than either the Richmond or Dayton teams. Their bigs are not outside threats, but extremely effective inside. If this game is played on Wednesday, it will be hard to determine which GW players will be eligible given the team will be coming out of Covid protocols. To combat URI’s inside game, we need Taiwo and Moore, along with the bench (Ojo, Haydon, Blethen) to be healthy. Also, hopefully this “break” has given Laureano a chance to recuperate. Fingers crossed.
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Posted by Poog 1/12/2022 6:25 pm | #2 |
So people don't jump all over the women's team, the following players are out tonight: Frames, Moore, Lok, Brown, Blethen, Bell. Laureano is available but probably limited. Loder (remember her?) and Patel are in the starting lineup. Coach McCombs will be back on the bench though.
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Posted by gwstudent2024 1/12/2022 9:50 pm | #3 |
Pretty rough 73-42 loss tonight. Not unexpected considering the quality of the opponent and the fact that they were missing six players. Saturday should be a good opportunity to get the first A-10 win of the year against a Bonnies team that is also yet to win a conference game this year. Hopefully they get some of the players back that were out tonight.
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Posted by BC 1/12/2022 9:53 pm | #4 |
even so, Poog - a poor effort by the team. a 73-42 loss.
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Posted by Poog 1/12/2022 10:49 pm | #5 |
BC wrote:
even so, Poog - a poor effort by the team. a 73-42 loss.
GW had no chance going into this game. Easy to take potshots at a grossly depleted roster going up against one of the stronger teams in the league. Poor result? Sure. Poor effort? No quit from the walk-ons, little used, or over-matched players.
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Posted by xAC 1/12/2022 11:04 pm | #6 |
URI wins in a runaway 73-42.
You could tell something was amiss as soon as you saw the starters line up at center court. With the starting five of Patel, Loder, Taiwo, Webster, and Gingras, you had to wonder who we had left on the bench. Missing the core of our team didn’t bode well against one of the better front courts in the A10. To make matters worse, Taiwo got her 3rd foul at the start of the 2Q, making it even harder to handle the mismatches against a really tall team. In the second half, although the experience and strength of URI’s upperclassmen continued to take advantage of our freshmen front court, our kids fought hard and never backed down.
Although this game was controlled by URI from start to finish, it wasn’t an ugly game. GW seemed followed the game plan, but couldn’t control the defensive boards and just missed a lot of decent looks-- understandable since some of the players had little or no game experience and we really didn’t have a designated scorer on the floor for much of the game (except for Laureano for short periods). For the most part, everyone played under control, but we forced some shots inside that never had a chance and we have to find a way to cut down on them. Props to our freshman Patel, Ojo, Haydon, and Engel who all played significant minutes. After some early shooting jitters, Patel nailed a couple of 4th quarter 3 pointers, showing what she is capable of. Engel, Haydon, and Ojo showed willingness to mix it up inside, despite being undersized. All seem to have the potential to be very solid A10 players, which bodes well down the line.
It was disappointing to see our core team out of the game because I felt the team was really starting to get things together against Richmond. Against our full roster, URI would have been a really good gauge against our progress. Hopefully the team can get to full strength sooner than later.
Last edited by xAC (1/13/2022 8:11 am)
