Posted by xAC  1/30/2023 12:29 pm | #1 |
Next up: Duquesne University Dukes
Time: February 1, 2023; 6 PM
Venue: Smith Center; Washington DC
2021-22 Record: 11-18 overall; 6-10 in A10
2023 Projection: 9th
Current Record: 14-8
OOC Record: 10-3
A10 Record: 4-5
Common OOC: Manhattan (W), Howard (W)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Duquesne comes to DC on Wednesday evening for a 6 PM tipoff at the Smith Center. The Dukes, who were picked to finish 9th in the A10 this year, finished a successful OOC campaign at 10-3. They had wins over Manhattan and Howard, two opponents on their schedule that they shared with GW, and notable losses to Pitt and Temple. In their latest A10 outing, the Dukes were overwhelmed by UMASS 83-61 on their home court.
Duquesne averages 68.7 ppg, shooting 40% from the field (32% from 3-point range) and 68.9% on free throws. Their defense allows 63.7 ppg on 35.3% accuracy from their opponents (best is the A10). The Dukes feature a balanced offensive attack, with 6 players averaging at least 9.5 ppg. They are led by guard Tess Myers, a preseason 3rd Team all A10 selection who averages 12.6 ppg., and by guard Megan McConnell, a preseason A10 All Defensive Team pick, who at 5’7” not only scores at 10.8 ppg clip but is the Dukes leading rebounder at 9.6 rpg (3rd in the A10) and playmaker (5.5 apg.). Forwards Amaya Hamilton (10.5 ppg and 6.6 rpg) and Ayanna Townsend (10.9 ppg), both at 6’2”, rotate with 6’4” center Precious Johnson (9.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg) to form an imposing front court.
GW won the only matchup with Duquesne last season in Pittsburgh, a 50-48 contest that went to the final seconds of the game.
About the game:
After experiencing the height and physicality of the Dayton front court, GW should expect much the same from Duquesne. They rank just behind Dayton in rebounds per game at 41.2. Myers leads the A10 with 69 3-pointers made in over 200 attempts, so they have the ability to score in multiple ways. McConnell, in addition to being a strong rebounder, leads the conference in assists and is 4th in steals. The front court players (Hamilton, Johnson, and Townsend) have all led Duquesne in scoring in games on multiple occasions this season.
GW should approach this game similar to the Dayton contest. Defensively, GW as a group, has to box out and scrap for every rebound. The Flyers scored 22 second chance points and the Colonials have to improve in this area against Duquesne. In their win over Duquesne, UMASS was able to contain Myers and McConnell, holding the pair to just a combined 17 points. GW must also find a way to limit the backcourt, while neutralizing their front court to the greatest extent possible. Offensively GW has to control the pace, much like in the Dayton game, and use their quickness against the taller Dukes. The Colonials were able to offset the Flyers’ rebounding edge with a fluid passing offense that registered 17 assists on 23 made baskets. In our 14 victories this season, GW averaged 13.4 assists per game as opposed to only 8.1 assists in our losses. Look for assists to be a defining metric for the outcome of this game.
GW comes into this contest a confident team, but Duquesne is a better team than our last two opponents. This will be a good matchup between two teams battling to stay in the second tier of the A10 and another big test for the Colonials.
Last edited by xAC (1/30/2023 12:29 pm)
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Posted by xAC 2/01/2023 9:03 pm | #2 |
GW slogs through to a tough 58-52 win.
1st Quarter: The Colonials defense was stout to begin the game, smothering the Dukes’ perimeter offense and holding their own on the boards. Unfortunately, the offense wasn’t clicking, and shots weren’t falling. Robertson was pressing and took some questionable shots, finishing 0-6 for the quarter. Thanks to the defense, GW led 10-8.
2nd Quarter: The offense by both teams was much like the 1st quarter. Duquesne was 1-14 from beyond the arc, but they managed to get some mismatches down low to get some easy deuces. Shots weren’t dropping for either team and the lead fluctuated until the last few minutes when GW was just a little more proficient on the 3’s than Duquesne. Lakstigala finished the half with 9 points, staking GW to a 30-25 lead.
3rd Quarter: Another sluggish offensive quarter for both teams, but again, a couple of timely 3’s helped GW maintain a 39-32 margin going into the final period. Duquesne relied on their inside game to score because GW was still not letting the Dukes’ backcourt get any easy shots.
4th Quarter: Some sloppy early offense by GW let Duquesne get within 4 points but GW prevailed, as the Colonials hit enough free throws in the end to take the 58-52 win. Lakstigala led all scoring with 21 points and Taiwo, who sat out the beginning of the quarter with 4 fouls finished with 11 offensive rebounds and 16 in total. Her rebounding was critical, as GW’s edge in 2nd chance points (16-9) was the difference the game. Robertson made a comeback in the second half with 12 points and finished the game with 15.
GW’s defense came to play and put on an impressive display, holding Myers to 1-14 from 3-point range and shutting out everyone else (the Dukes were 1-29). Duquesne countered by taking advantage of their size on the inside to score effectively (34 points in the paint) to keep the game close. Although Duquesne managed 29 3-point attempts, none of them were easy. Myers and McConnell who were a combined 6-25, were harassed by a hustling defense the entire game. GW’s quickness helped to counter Duquesne’s height and outrebound them 55-51, with a 24-14 edge in offensive boards. The offensive numbers were not pretty—28% shooting (19-68) and just 8 assists on the day. It was less about Duquesne's defense, as GW forced too many shots and made questionable drives to the basket, leading to 10 blocked shots and several turnovers. Loving had some productive minutes when Taiwo was on the bench with fouls, playing tough in the interior and pulling down 8 rebounds. Lok, once again, made some key shots down the stretch. And once again, Robertson did not let a horrendous 1st half faze her and came up big in the 2nd.
Despite the offensive shortcomings, the defense ruled the day and GW came away with their 4th consecutive win to go 15-8 and 7-3 in the A10-- tied for 3rd place with Fordham. GMU is up next as GW will try to win 5 in a row for the first time in a long while. We really need to beat them this time.
Last edited by xAC (2/01/2023 9:12 pm)
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Posted by dmvpiranha 2/02/2023 12:21 am | #3 |
WBB played really well defensively. Duquesne shot the ball poorly but that was perhaps the best effort I've seen along the perimeter in a long time - especially against Myers. Unlike last year there is enough offense from Mia and Nya coupled with Mayowa's rebounding that I think the team can win most games in conference if the defense shows up somewhat.
Good to see Caia Loving's minutes increase the past couple games. We probably could have utilized her size down low earlier in conference play against the St. Joe's of the world but it seems like she is trending in the right direction and I think her minutes helped against a bigger team down low like the Dukes. The instincts are there, and I can see her breaking out in year #2. These minutes for her are very valuable the rest of the year.
I still wish passing was better in the halfcourt because there is enough offensive firepower to score closer to 70 a game if more shots are assisted. The most stunning thing I came across going through the conference stats earlier today was that GW does not have a single player in the top 30 in assists per game. Even Bonaventure has a player in the top 30. Given there are 15 teams in the league, you would expect at least two players in the top 30 but WBB doesn't even have one.
At the end of the day though the team finds a way to come out on top and that's all that matters. At the start of the year, I would have taken 3rd place in the league any day of the week. I'm sure they will be ready for Mason this time around.
