Posted by xAC  1/27/2022 1:08 pm | #1 |
This weekend finds GW traveling down the road to Fairfax to meet George Mason in a battle of the A10 cellar dwellers. One of these teams will break a losing streak (GM at 9 and GW at 5), but with both teams struggling, the outcome is anyone’s guess.
The Patriots come into the game with an overall record of 6-12 and 0-6 in the A10. Prior to the start of their losing streak, they managed to beat Florida, a Power 5 opponent that handled GW fairly easily in November. They also had losses to James Madison and American University, two teams that GW defeated earlier this season.
GMU and GW have strikingly similar offensive statistics. GMU shoots 36.6% as a team (GW is at 33.3%) and 26.9% from 3-point range (GW is at 27%). They are being outscored by opponents by 6.2 ppg while GW is being outscored by 6.5 ppg. Defensively, the Patriots allow 68.2 ppg on 42.1% shooting, compared to GW at 57.2 ppg and 40.9% shooting.
Although on paper this may look like an evenly matched game, unfortunately for GW, GMU’s biggest strength plays into our biggest defensive liability. 6’1” Senior Amaya Scott is a relentless inside force, averaging 18.2 ppg (20.3 in A10 play) on 47% shooting and 7.2 rpg. 6’0” Junior Jordan Wakefield chips in 11.9 ppg and 5.5 rpg as the main outside threat, having launched over 100 3’s while hitting on 28.2% of them. I would have liked our chances better had Moore been eligible, but I noticed she’s been removed from the current GW roster, so we have to move on from that. I believe a healthy Ojo would help.
I haven’t liked the team body language over the past couple of games. Our shooters didn’t look confident. The players seemed stressed and not having fun like they were earlier in the year. The only one who has shown a consistent level of energy has been Taiwo. Lok has to find a way to stay out of foul trouble. She has lost significant minutes sitting on the bench, and we need her, especially when everyone else is struggling. Gingras just seems to be playing very tentatively. The list goes on. Can we get our mojo back? Let’s hope so.
Last edited by xAC (1/27/2022 1:44 pm)
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Posted by dmvpiranha 1/28/2022 5:51 pm | #2 |
Nice post xAC. I totally agree that the team is playing with less swagger compared to earlier in the year.
It's interesting that we've never really played Nya and Sheslanie together on the floor. While they too have struggled with efficiency, it's worth changing things up.
Anyone that's shooting 40% or better from the floor deserves more minutes (Engel, Ojo when healthy) to try and boost the current offensive struggles. Leila Patel started one game and has never seen action in any other game this year. The rotations have been really bizarre, even if a good part of that is due to injuries.
With Kyara and Sierra both graduating this season, I'm glad Aurea is getting the minutes starting right now. She has the vision to make a difference as a passer, but just doesn't have the shooting ability currently. I think she has promise as a pass-first option, but should only shoot if she's taking it to the rim.
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Posted by BC 1/29/2022 3:58 pm | #3 |
wow, the team seems to have totally disintegrated. Down 28-15 at the half.
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Posted by BC 1/29/2022 4:21 pm | #4 |
trying to come back - at the end of the third down just 38-36.
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Posted by GW0509 1/29/2022 4:51 pm | #5 |
Bad loss. Really need to make some offensive upgrades in the offseason.
Last edited by GW0509 (1/29/2022 4:51 pm)
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Posted by BC 1/29/2022 4:54 pm | #6 |
they lose 52-46.
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Posted by xAC 1/29/2022 5:41 pm | #7 |
GW loses on the road to rival George Mason 52-46.
First, let’s acknowledge the recovery to make this an interesting game after the disastrous 1st quarter. Despite the deficiencies on offense, it was good to see that there was no quit in the team. To me, coming back was a pleasant surprise.
That being said, losing to GMU doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season. Yes, the offense has to improve, but GMU did the smart thing at crunch time, going into Scott and Doster inside, and they made us pay at the end. I usually shy away from how our coaches rotate players in and out, but as DMV has observed, some of the rotations do seem relatively “bizzare”. If you look at our starting lineup, we have Taiwo at the “5” (which is already a stretch-- no pun intended!), meaning that Webster starts at the “4”. Taiwo took on Scott, so Webster had to cover Doster, which was a total mismatch. When we rested Webster, Engel came in to guard Doster, and that was no contest as well. A lineup with Taiwo and Ojo or Haydon in the game at the same time with Frames, Lok, and Laureano would be interesting. Webster is tough, but just not physically able to handle the bigger A10 players on either side of the ball. She is good at getting put-backs, but when she goes one-on-one down low against bigger players she is usually ineffective.
I suspect the players feel the pressure to score, but they are forcing up way too many shots. Lok and Laureano are our best offensive players, but today they went 5-23 from the field (1-12 from 3-point range). Both are liabilities when they try to force the action, but they are trying to compensate for the lack of an inside game. Also, our PGs seem to suffer from a shoot-first mentality, in that it seems they never look to pass off the dribble. Once again, Taiwo, who had her usual great rebounding game (17 - 8O and 9D), scored 10 points and led the team in assists (with 2!). If that’s going to continue, Frames getting more minutes makes sense, because she moves the ball up the court much faster than Gingras, and is more of an offensive threat. I’m glad Engel got some good minutes, because even though she’s not athletic, she has good offensive skills. But where are Ojo and Haydon (injured or just not ready for A10 play?). I know we want to have an identity as a defensive team, but at some point the offense has to be coached up. We need some innovation because any who is scouting us now knows what we’re doing every time down the court.
Next game is a make-up game at Olean, NY., against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. Hopefully, we can get off to a better start than we did today.
Last edited by xAC (1/29/2022 6:03 pm)
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Posted by dmvpiranha 1/29/2022 7:20 pm | #8 |
This felt like a game that we lost rather than Mason won. They took advantage of our lack of height down low (and we struggled at times to stay in front of their guards defensively) but the game was mostly lost by our inability to make shots. Unlike MBB, I thought our ball movement was pretty decent in this game (and has been all season), but no one can get the ball in the hoop consistently.
Liked the shift in offensive play-calling to attack the rim a bit more after halftime (although it felt like we were due with almost bad shooting luck the past several games). It seemed like before halftime there was a greater effort to create open jumpers, but this team cannot make those consistently. 15 points before halftime is absolutely abysmal. Mayowa looked like the only A10-level player on the team before halftime. Surprised we didn't feature her more after halftime (I don't believe she scored in the second half) after she got off to a good start. She lacks height, but has the best touch on the team near the hoop.
I understood why we decided to have Nya/Sheslanie take a good number of shots, since they are the two best on the team at creating their own shot. Unfortunately, they are a bit up-and-down when it comes to making shots. Both would probably be good complementary pieces on a better team but I'm unsure if they're good primary options - of course, options are limited on this year's squad. I think they did play together a bit in the second quarter, but it wasn't enough. Despite the inefficiency, the thought is that two players who are dynamic with the ball on the court would make us tougher to guard.
Kyara also lacks height, but is probably the best shot-maker of the three PGs on the squad. Sierra and Aurea usually have trouble scoring unless they get to the line with great frequency (on jumpers, Sierra hits the back rim, and Aurea hits the front rim). I don't mind if Gingras continues to start (I think she's the best of the three on defense), but Kyara should continue to play most of the second half if we're trailing (like we were today). Essence can be streaky, but should still take more shots on this team.
Agree on Taylor defensively. On offense, she tends to put too much energy into her layups and they carom off the backboard (a common issue of many on the team). Glad Maxine got some time today as the better offensive player (although she probably needs to develop more physically to hold her own on the other end).
I hope McCombs recognizes this offseason that you need a lot more offense to contend in the A10 (the league is definitely on the rise on the women's side). Her teams only averaged in the upper 50s or so at Stony Brook but teams in the America East are not as good on offense (which allowed her teams to win with defense). A few players probably should remain for continuity, but yeah most of this roster should be turned over to get more McCombs players in the system and give the offense a major boost.
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Posted by xAC 2/15/2022 9:36 am | #9 |
GW versus George Mason – Round 2
After beating St. Louis handily, the Colonials have a quick turnaround with a home game against the Patriots tomorrow night (Feb 16). In the first game on January 29, George Mason defeated GW in a close contest on the Patriots’ home court.
Despite our three consecutive conference wins, a loss to the Patriots would move us back into last place in the conference. George Mason (8-15 overall and 2-9 in the A10) comes into the game having lost 3 of 4 A10 contests since the last matchup with GW. Their leading scorers Scott (16.2 ppg on 45.8% shooting and 6.7 rpg) and Wakefield (10.4 ppg) have tailed off a bit since the conference schedule started, but both are capable of big games.
Against St. Louis, the Colonials got off to a fast start and fed off the early successes. For the first time this year, we won all four quarters of a game against a D1 opponent. And despite being undersized in the last three games, Taiwo, Engel, and Webster have been able hold their own in the low post to neutralize our opponents’ front courts. We need to guard Scott and Wakefield for sure, but also be leery of Jazmyn Doster, who came off the bench to control the offensive paint in critical situations and was the key player in their earlier win against us. In that game, poor shooting (30% and 3-18 from distance) was the main culprit in our downfall.
Now, the rotation seems set and our offensive movement has greatly improved, so maybe we can put up better numbers in this game and make it 4 in a row.
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Posted by xAC 2/16/2022 9:16 pm | #10 |
GW wins 65-57 in what was a competitive contest for most of the game.
Mayowa Taiwo-- what more can you say? When everyone else cooled off, Taiwo was relentless on the boards and scoring inside the paint. She finished with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 4 steals, and although she had a tough first half (1-8 from the field), she finished strong down the stretch on 7-10 shooting. Her 11 offensive rebounds helped us to take a 18-6 advantage on second chance points. Laureano got off to a fast start but cooled off in the second half. The Patriots’ best 3-point shooting game of the season (9-20) helped them stay close until we closed them out in the final moments of the 4th quarter.
In the early going, our defense created some transition offense leading to easy baskets. Then we got bogged down a little in the half-court offense, which let George Mason stay close. When we really needed to score, we got clutch baskets from Essence Brown, and numerous inside hoops from Taiwo.
George Mason had a good 4th quarter, but we were able to counter with our highest scoring quarter on 50% shooting. A good win to end a home stand. Next up, St. Joe’s in Philly.
Last edited by xAC (2/16/2022 9:19 pm)
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Posted by GW0509 2/16/2022 9:21 pm | #11 |
Mark it four! Congrats to the ladies and glad to see them get some momentum going.
