George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
(2-1)
Coppin State
(0-3)
Women's Hoops Routs Coppin State, 77-46
11/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON - In a one-sided affair that was put out of reach early, the George Washington women's basketball team jumped out to a 23-10 lead after the first quarter, extended to a 47-19 lead at the half, and put it in cruise control to the finish to easily defeat Coppin State, 77-46, on Wednesday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.
In the decorated careers of seniors Caira Washington, Hannah Schaible and Shannon Cranshaw, GW is now 43-6 at home.
Washington, the Preseason All-Conference First Teamer, led the way for the Colonials (2-1) with a dominant 16-point, nine-rebound effort -- both team highs -- in just 20 minutes of action, while 10 Colonials in all found the scoring column and nine scored at least five points.
As balanced as GW's offense was, it was the defense that earned the victory, as the Colonials blitzed Coppin State (0-3) with 13 blocks - a career high six of which came from Washington - while owning the boards with a massive 59-33 rebounding edge.
Coppin State was led by Keena Samuels' game-high 17 points, though it came on 5-of-18 shooting from the floor. GW harassed the Eagles into a 17-of-66 (.258) shooting night from the floor, including a 2-of-15 mark from long range. On the other end, the Colonials came out scorching with a 21-of-40 (.525) effort in the first half to put the game out of reach.
Schaible's five assists led GW, while junior Brianna Cummings had a strong all-around performance with eight points, six rebounds and four assists, with six points and five boards coming in the first half in the starting role. No GW starter logged more than 21 minutes though, as the deep bench of the home team was more than enough to overpower Coppin State and outscore their counterparts, 30-5.
First-year Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti emptied her bench in the win, as GW freshman Harper Birdsong made her Colonials' debut in the contest. Also seeing extended action were junior Jada Matthews (career high six points in 13 minutes) and sophomore Kelsi Mahoney, who drained her first two career three-pointers in 11 minutes of play.
"I've always coached that way and I don't believe there is any other way to do it successfully," said Rizzotti. "We have already had games where people have gotten in foul trouble and I've had to go to the bench. The more experience that I can give to these guys that don't have a lot of college experience, the more I will be able to count on them later. Its nice when our starters are in a groove and not in foul trouble and making shots. But they play really hard and were looking to push tempo and they get tired. So its good for them to know that they have guys coming off the bench that can give them a blow and there is no drop off in our intensity."
Other notables for GW included another strong eight point, seven rebound effort from consistent grad transfer Lexi Martins, a career-high 10 points from starting junior point guard Camila Tapias, and a new career high six boards from freshman Kendall Bresee in her third collegiate game.
Sophomore Mei-Lyn Bautista pulled down a career-high five rebounds in addition to five points, three assists, one block and one steal while junior Kelli Prange chipped in seven points, six rebounds and two assists.
GW plays again at Villanova in a Sunday matinee at 1:00 p.m., then heads south next week to the Gulf Coast Showcase for three games in three days over the weekend following Thanksgiving.
