George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
(2-3)
Vanderbilt
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GW Women's Basketball Stuffed by Vanderbilt, 69-59
11/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON - The Charles E. Smith Center was jamming on Thanksgiving -- the Paradise Jam, that is -- as George Washington, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin came together for the 2017 edition of the tournament. Originally scheduled for the Virgin Islands, GW came to the rescue with its bid to host the prestigious tourney after a pair of hurricanes rendered the original host venue on the Islands out of service.
Despite the Colonials' extra helping of goodness, the Commodores of Vanderbilt escaped with a little extra to be thankful for on Thursday. Kelli Prange ate up 13 points and seven rebounds for GW, while Brianna Cummings and Camila Tapias both relished in 11-point performances. Tapias also deep fried a trio of three-pointers on eight attempts.
It was not to be though for GW as despite serving 16 assists on 23 made field goals, including a helping of four for Mei-Lyn Bautista without any turnovers on the side, Vanderbilt's Chelsie Hall ensured the Commodores' pilgrimage to DC would be successful.
Freshman Neila Luma mashed together seven points on 3-of-6 shooting while gobbling up a team-high eight rebounds, but GW couldn't harvest enough from its bench to feast with Vandy's reserves. Vanderbilt got more than a second course from its leftovers, as the Commodores 36 points off the bench provided the gravy in the win and outscored their starting unit by three. Erin Whalen baked in 14 points and eight rebounds while dishing three assists in 24 minutes off the bench in celebration.
After GW popped out of the oven with a 17-13 lead after the first quarter of play, Vanderbilt set the table for its win with a 21-7 second quarter before the halftime timer went off. The Commodores were able to keep distance with a 26-15 scoring margin in the third quarter. The Colonials refused to go quietly, pulling to within 10 points of the lead with a 20-9 fourth quarter, but the comeback was not to be.
The Colonials were able to feast on 26 turnovers which they rolled into 19 points for dessert on the other end. On the flip side, the home team tied a season-low with 13 giveaways including flawless performances from Bautista (four assists, zero turnovers) and rookie Lexus Levy (six points, three assists, zero turnovers).
Another tasty recipe of games follows tomorrow. The Colonials will dine with Wisconsin at 1pm, while Vanderbilt and Syracuse look to squash each other at 3:30. In the first game of the Jam today, the Orange pied Wisconsin, 77-74.
