George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
6-2, 1-0 A-10
VCU
4-4, 0-1 A-10
GW Dominates Second Half to Beat VCU, 81-67
12/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON - In an early Atlantic 10 opener, the George Washington women's basketball team hosted VCU at the Smith Center, and ran the visitors out of the building in the second half after trailing 36-27 at halftime to take a 81-67 decision and get out to a 1-0 start in the conference.
"I am excited to get our first Atlantic 10 win," said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. "This is really the only game that mattered to me in the November and December time frame because its what we are playing for, to try to win a championship. I thought VCU came out really tough and made things really hard for us early in the game and hit some tough shots but what I love about this group is they never seem to get rattled. We talked at halftime about how we need to be a little more determined on the boards and make sure that things go our way."
Powered by Lexi Martins and Hannah Schaible in the second half, GW (6-2, 1-0 A-10) turned the nine-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead for the defending back-to-back A-10 Champions with a 32-13 third quarter of play.
Martins had 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks in the third quarter alone, including a deep three-pointer at the 1:41 mark of the third that put GW up 53-49. After the game was tied at 46-46 with 3:34 to go in the period, GW closed the quarter on 13-3 run and extended its lead to 22 at its largest midway through the fourth.
"I was just trying to go out there and play with a short-term memory from the first half where I struggled a little bit," said Martins. "I was trying to be aggressive and get on the boards and the rest of the game kind of flows when I am rebounding the ball well."
Schaible's second half included 12 points, three assists and two rebounds, en route to an 18-7-6 line for the game. Schaible claimed team-high honors in points, assists and steals (4), while Martins' season high 11 boards (six offensive) were also a game high in her first double-double effort as a Colonial and 43rd of her career.
"I think Hannah might be the most competitive person I have ever coached," said Rizzotti. "It has only been eight games and she just refuses to lose and is really determined. She understands that she can impact the game in so many ways, so she does. She steals, rebounds, shoots and drives. She is the heart of our team when she is out there."
Junior Kelli Prange was also big for GW on the night with a season-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, along with seven rebounds as part of a front court effort that yielded a monumental 40-22 edge in points in the paint. 2016 A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player Caira Washington battled foul trouble, but nevertheless contributed nine points (3-of-4), seven rebounds and four big blocks on the defensive end to team with Martins (three blocks) to secure the paint.
Ultimately, in a game that saw five ties and 11 lead changes, none came after the 1:59 mark of the third quarter when Martins put GW up for good with a put-back layup ahead of her big three. As a team the Colonials connected on 12-of-20 (.600) shots from the floor when they took control in the third, and followed up that effort with an even more blistering 10-of-16 (.625) performance in the final quarter. The second half saw GW bury six of nine three-point tries.
Brianna Cummings registered 13 in the contest, while Martins finished with 11 to give GW four double-digit scorers, while VCU (4-4, 0-1 A-10) was led by Keira Robinson's 19 points and Galaisha Goodhope's 14; the only two Rams to top 10 points in the game.
Sophomore point guard Mei-Lyn Bautista racked up five assists in the contest at the head of a GW offense that assisted on a season-high 25 of 32 made field goals.
Up next for the Colonials is a Sunday match-up with Illinois at home at noon. GW has five non-conference games remaining before beginning A-10 play in full on Jan. 1 at Duquesne.
