Women's Basketball Stymied by Villanova, 60-45

Thursday, December 6

Washington, D.C.

7 p.m.

George Washington University

(2-7)

Villanova

(6-2)

Villanova

George Washington

12/6/2018 9:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Bautista, Luma continue run of double-figure games

WASHINGTON - What looked on paper beforehand to be a defensive battle, proved to be exactly the case on Thursday night at the Charles E. Smith Center in downtown Washington, DC. After all, the George Washington women's basketball team entered play having held opponents to 59.6 ppg this season (tied for third-best in the Atlantic 10), with six of eight previous opponents failing to reach 55. Villanova, to its stingy credit, boasted a defense coming to DC ranked 16th nationally, having allowed less than 50 points in four wins this season, with just 81 points scored against them combined in its last two games (wins vs. Princeton and at Saint Joseph's). The homestanding Colonials would end up on the wrong side of the decision, though, in a 60-45 defeat to the BIG EAST foe.

Mei-Lyn Bautista led the way for GW with a team-high 18 points courtesy of a 5-of-11 shooting show from three-point range and a 3-of-4 night at the free throw line, but in a game that featured only 10 free throws total, the Buff and Blue needed more help from the floor. Neila Luma did net 14 for the cause on 7-of-15 shots, but outside of Bautista and Luma, the balance of the Colonials were 4-for-26 as Villanova lived up to its reputation.

Committed to not letting Villanova's leading gun Kelly Jekot beat them -- she of the 14.4 ppg scoring average and rank within the top-50 marksman in the country with her .462 shooting clip from long range entering play -- GW was effective. Jekot was held to eight points by the GW 'D' and without a three-pointer in six attempts, but teammate Adrianna Hahn did plenty of damage with her game-high tying 18 points and 6-of-9 performance from long range. Owning the A-10's best three-point defense, with a paltry .232 3pt. field goal percentage allowed through the first eight games, GW wasn't far off that mark against the Wildcats and yielded only a .294 accuracy rate. It was the volume that did them in, however, as Villanova was true on 10 of its 34 attempts.

The Wildcats held a svelte 13-9 lead after the first quarter, which was narrowly extended to six at the half, 28-22, with Kelsi Mahoney helping to keep the game close when scoring was at a premium via a buzzer-beating three-pointer before intermission. Villanova extended to a 41-30 margin after three, but despite GW seeing its highest-scoring quarter in the final stanza (15), so too did the visitors (19) to thwart any comeback attempt. Though the BIG EAST team led wire-to-wire, GW kept it reasonably close throughout, and found itself down just nine with ample time on the clock in the fourth to try to threaten, only to see its deficit slowly increase throughout the closing minutes.

Bautista flashed her point guard brilliance with yet another zero turnover performance while finishing with a game-high tying (Jekot) five dimes. Luma led the way on the boards for GW with nine rebounds, matching Villanova's Mary Gedaka who nearly double-doubled with 13 points as well. Jannah Tucker was the lone other individual to notch double figures on either side with 11 points for the Wildcats.

GW gets another shot to rejoin the win column Sunday when it visits South Florida for a 2 p.m. affair.