George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
13-8, 6-3 A-10
Duquesne
12-11, 5-5 A-10
Women's Basketball Outdone by Duquesne, 73-63
1/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON - In Atlantic 10 action at the Charles E. Smith Center, the George Washington women's basketball hosted Duquesne on Sunday evening. After thoroughly defeating the Dukes in Pittsburgh on New Year's Day, 75-40, and having claimed the A-10 Championship in the Tournament final with a win over Duquesne last season, the Colonials allowed their counterparts to exact a bit of revenge in a 73-63 defeat.
Despite the loss GW stands at 13-8 overall and 6-3 in conference, now in a four-way tie for third place behind conference-leading Dayton and second place Saint Louis.
"We didn't make many shots, which is frustrating," said head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. "Although, it was nice to see that we could get so many shots. When we can be that kind of team that shares the ball and takes care of it and gets good looks, I think we are going to be tough to beat. We just have to knock down more shots earlier."
GW couldn't find the range from the opening tip, and after starting the game 1-for-16 from the field (a Mei-Lyn Bautista three-pointer midway through the first was GW's first bucket), GW needed its defense to keep the game within reach early. The Colonials held the Dukes to .353 shooting in the first frame and trailed by just six after the first quarter, 13-7.
Duquesne extended its lead by two in the second stanza to take a 31-23 lead into the halftime locker room, putting GW in a position it's faced several times this season - having to make a furious second-half rally.
A rally wasn't in the cards for the Colonials this time, however, as despite getting to within two points of the lead and later trailing by six again entering the fourth, Duquesne extended to a game-high 15 point lead with 3:47 to play and cruised to the win.
Brianna Cummings' 13 points off the bench led GW, who was missing All A-10 Performer Caira Washington for the fourth straight game, while Lexi Martins contributed 12 with a team high-tying seven rebounds.
GW committed a season-low six turnovers in the game while Bautista turned in another clean effort at the point with four assists against zero turnovers to go with nine points and two rebounds. The turnover total was the lowest in a game since committing six against Fordham on January 7, 2012.
The Dukes duo of Amadea Szamosi and Julijana Vojinovic was too much to overcome for the Colonials as they teamed for 45 points and 22 rebounds. Szamosi enjoyed game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Vojinovic added a game high five assists to her 21-point, eight-rebound outing.
Up next for the Colonials is a matinee date with Fordham on Field Trip Day at the Smith Center, Wednesday at 12pm, with hundreds of DC Metro area schoolchildren expected to be in attendance. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Network.
