WBB Preseason Primer: Ready to Make an Impact

11/1/2018 2:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories

First-year quartet set to debut with sights on taking program to the next level

By: Kevin Burke

Editor's Note: This is the last in a four-part series of features previewing the 2018-19 GW Women's Basketball program. Leading up to the season opener on Nov. 8 at James Madison, GWsports.com has highlighted four distinct groups in weekly articles.

Part I: A Bond Born Through Adversity (Seniors Mei-Lyn Bautista and Kelsi Mahoney)
Part II: Surging Into Year Two (Sophomores Chyna Latimer, Lexus Levy and Neila Luma)
Part III: A Long Time Coming (Redshirt-sophomores Olivia Gumbs and Sarah Overcash)

WASHINGTON – First-years Tori Hyduke, Maddie Loder, Kayla Mokwuah and Mayowa Taiwo couldn't help but be a bit star-struck when GW head coach Jennifer Rizzotti started recruiting them.

Granted, none of them are old enough to remember Rizzotti's illustrious career at UConn, but that's what websites like YouTube and Wikipedia are for.

"I didn't know who she was," Taiwo said. "Once I heard about all of her accolades, I watched her videos and it was like 'somebody like that wants me to play for her?' That was pretty cool."

Mokwuah wasn't familiar with her soon-to-be head coach, either.

"When I told my (high school) coach and my parents that GW was recruiting me they were all like 'Jen Rizzotti?!'," Mokwuah said. "I had to look her up and saw that she's big time. I knew that someone like that definitely had a lot of basketball knowledge and could definitely make me better as a player."

Loder added, "I'm from the Midwest, so I don't know a lot of East Coast legends. Once I figured it out, though, it was like she's really the coolest person I've ever met."

Rizzotti's body of work fell most in line with Hyduke, a diminutive point guard from the Northeast.

"Just to see someone in my position and small like me succeed in such a big way is just really exciting," Hyduke said. "She's a legend. I really thought that I could progress as a player with her as my coach."

Even with Rizzotti's stature and connections within the basketball world, it was the private side that many don't get to see that stuck with the group as they made their college choice.

"She's really humble," Mokwuah said. "We go hang out at her house, play with her kids. She's this big figurehead, but at the same time, she's also a really normal person who's easy to talk to."

"She cares about us a lot as players, and that's something that was very evident early on in probably all of our recruiting processes," Loder said. "She cares about her players so much. Then it was just really easy to like her."

The group comprises four different skill sets – Hyduke is a three-star guard from New Jersey who was rated as one of the top-30 point guards in her recruiting class. Certainly, big things are on the horizon for the Rumson, N.J. native, but they'll have to wait a year as she will miss the season after suffering a preseason knee injury.

"I'm excited to turn what happened into a positive," Hyduke said. "I can learn so much more about how I can do things better from watching. I'll be able to see others mistakes and realize I'm not going to do that when I have the chance."

Loder is an all-around wing that can also dabble at point who will be counted upon to provide the sharp-shooting skills that put her in the running for Miss Minnesota Basketball as a senior. She's the first Minnesota native to play for GW in five years, but Washington, D.C. immediately stuck out as a new home.

"When I came and visited, I left and I knew I was going to school here," Loder said. "I knew right away. I loved the city, the staff and how they played. I realized I played just like them, and it was a really easy decision for me right away."

Mokwuah is a dominating presence in the paint at 6-foot-4. From the small town of Longmeadow, Mass., just outside of Springfield and minutes from the National Basketball Hall of Fame, Mokwuah fell in love with D.C.

"It was really cool to come to the city and see all the different things you can do," Mokwuah said. "I love the campus. On top of that, I wanted to go to a good academic school, so I could pursue my career afterwards."

Academics – primarily a strong engineering program – were the priority for Taiwo, as well. In addition, the former three-sport athlete at Rockbridge Academy has an ability to play at multiple positions on the floor.

"Out of the schools I visited, the engineering program here was so much higher," Taiwo said. "I discussed it with my parents and said academics first. With a coaching staff like this and civil engineering here, it was my thing."

The newcomers didn't know each other this time last year but now have bustling group chat. On the court, the group will be counted upon heavily to help the program sustain its lofty standards. Knowing that they have each other to work with every step of the journey eases their minds as the season grows near.

"We're all here because we love to play basketball, and it's even better that we get to play with each other now," Loder said. "I'm just excited to see what we can do. Every day it feels better, and I think we can do a lot of really great things, and I'm just excited to see what happens."

"I'm excited to see everyone grow because even since the summer, some people have played completely different," Mokwuah said. "People are getting so much better, faster and stronger. I know that's going to keep going as the season goes on, and I think we all can contribute a lot to this team."