George Washington University Athletics
Photo by: Greg Fiume
Run to Remember
3/10/2022 10:50:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Women's basketball built momentum with success at A-10 Championship
GW women's basketball spent its first night in Delaware ahead of last week's Atlantic 10 Championship cheering on one of the most inspiring underdogs the sports world has ever seen.
The Buff and Blue piled into Head Coach Caroline McCombs' hotel room to watch the movie Miracle chronicling the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team's improbable defeat of the mighty Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal.
"I think we all took something away from that movie," graduate student Kyara Frames said. "It inspired us. It motivated us to want to be great. Because it's a story about trusting the process, having a belief in something bigger than yourself and coming out of yourself to play for your teammates."
Frames and her teammates didn't ultimately get their own storybook ending, but for three days, they played their best hoops of the season in a spirited run at Chase Fieldhouse.
The 12th-seeded Colonials took out No. 13 St. Bonaventure and No. 5 La Salle before leading No. 4 VCU into the final period of a narrow quarterfinal defeat.
It was an encouraging finish to McCombs' first season in Foggy Bottom that illustrated this group's toughness, belief and continued progress in the face of obstacles.
"I felt like we were just sort of coming together," McCombs said. "Everything felt new and energized. Everyone was locked in. I don't think anybody was ready for the season to be over."
McCombs got to work last April setting the foundation of her vision for restoring the program to its historic place at the top of the A-10 standings.
The veteran coach and her new staff swiftly overhauled the roster and began to instill the concepts, from a defense-first emphasis on the court to a growth mindset off it, that will guide the future of the program.
There were challenges throughout the season, especially early in the conference slate with a changing rotation necessitated by injuries and illness, but the group found joy in the journey and breakthroughs worth celebrating along the way, boosted by a defense that ranked in the top 20 nationally at 55.2 points per game.
"Many times this season, we were all we had," said Mayowa Taiwo, who had a career year as a redshirt junior averaging 8.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. "Even though we kept hitting adversity after adversity, we never lost that belief that we really have a special group here and we could really do something special."
McCombs introduced her mantra of Pound the Stone from the book of the same title by Joshua Medcalf with a summer book club, and that intentional, daily commitment to the process of improvement became especially important in a season so focused on growth and development.
"It's an exciting process to go through, but it's not easy, at times," McCombs said. "It's tough when you're doing things right and you're doing things right and you don't get a result, but you keep doing those same things, and eventually because they're the right things, there's progress."
The fruits of that determination were on display at the A-10 Championship.
GW entered the postseason mostly healthy, confident in its draw within the bracket and eager to make some March Madness memories.
McCombs said she sensed her group was ready for an extended stay at the tournament because the focus and attention to detail in film study and walkthroughs was as good as it had been all season.
"I think we all kind of had a chip on our shoulder," Frames said. "In the regular season, we didn't perform the way we wanted to, and the best feeling was knowing that our record was 0-0 going into tournament play. For us, it was a fresh start, and we had something to prove."
The Buff and Blue followed McCombs' favored blueprint for success to spark their run. They locked down on defense, looked to run, crashed the glass and grinded out victories.
In the opener, GW dug out of an eight-point fourth quarter hole to beat the Bonnies, 54-49, led by Frames, whose season-high 17 points included go-ahead and game-sealing 3-pointers late.
The next day, the Colonials led wire-to-wire in a 64-54 victory against the Explorers to avenge a Senior Day loss, with Frames, Taiwo and Sheslanie Laureano in double figures.
The squad's bid to be the A-10 Championship's first No. 12 seed to reach the semifinals came up just short vs. VCU. The Colonials led by as many as three in the final quarter and had it tied on a layup by Laureano with 3:07 to go, but that proved to be their last field goal as the Rams pulled away for a 55-47 victory.
When it was over, McCombs told the group she was proud of them and turned the floor over to departing veterans Frames, Sierra Bell and Maddie Loder.
A graduate transfer via Albany, Frames fought back tears while thanking all involved for making her final season of college hoops a memorable one. The best is ahead, she said, because they have continued to live their coach's mantra.
"We didn't win the A-10 Championship, but we were still pounding the stone," Frames said. "That's the whole point of what we're doing here. It's not to have instant gratification but to stay together and continue working through those tough moments of adversity."
Now, the Buff and Blue head into their first full offseason under McCombs' leadership.
It's an exciting time with most of their rotation eligible to return, including four from the A-10 Championship starting lineup in Taiwo, Laureano, defensive stopper Essence Brown and surging rookie Maxine Engel, and more reinforcements on the way.
McCombs believes memories from this A-10 Championship, from the Miracle movie night through the frustrating finish, will provide the fuel for more growth for this group.
"I was just really proud of what we did over those three days," McCombs said. "Can we get better? Absolutely. But I think the fight that we showed will motivate our team for the future, heading into spring workouts and then into the summer.
"We have a taste in our mouth right now that we need to remember to keep us hungry for more."
The Buff and Blue piled into Head Coach Caroline McCombs' hotel room to watch the movie Miracle chronicling the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team's improbable defeat of the mighty Soviet Union on the way to a gold medal.
"I think we all took something away from that movie," graduate student Kyara Frames said. "It inspired us. It motivated us to want to be great. Because it's a story about trusting the process, having a belief in something bigger than yourself and coming out of yourself to play for your teammates."
Frames and her teammates didn't ultimately get their own storybook ending, but for three days, they played their best hoops of the season in a spirited run at Chase Fieldhouse.
The 12th-seeded Colonials took out No. 13 St. Bonaventure and No. 5 La Salle before leading No. 4 VCU into the final period of a narrow quarterfinal defeat.
It was an encouraging finish to McCombs' first season in Foggy Bottom that illustrated this group's toughness, belief and continued progress in the face of obstacles.
"I felt like we were just sort of coming together," McCombs said. "Everything felt new and energized. Everyone was locked in. I don't think anybody was ready for the season to be over."
McCombs got to work last April setting the foundation of her vision for restoring the program to its historic place at the top of the A-10 standings.
The veteran coach and her new staff swiftly overhauled the roster and began to instill the concepts, from a defense-first emphasis on the court to a growth mindset off it, that will guide the future of the program.
There were challenges throughout the season, especially early in the conference slate with a changing rotation necessitated by injuries and illness, but the group found joy in the journey and breakthroughs worth celebrating along the way, boosted by a defense that ranked in the top 20 nationally at 55.2 points per game.
"Many times this season, we were all we had," said Mayowa Taiwo, who had a career year as a redshirt junior averaging 8.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. "Even though we kept hitting adversity after adversity, we never lost that belief that we really have a special group here and we could really do something special."
McCombs introduced her mantra of Pound the Stone from the book of the same title by Joshua Medcalf with a summer book club, and that intentional, daily commitment to the process of improvement became especially important in a season so focused on growth and development.
"It's an exciting process to go through, but it's not easy, at times," McCombs said. "It's tough when you're doing things right and you're doing things right and you don't get a result, but you keep doing those same things, and eventually because they're the right things, there's progress."
The fruits of that determination were on display at the A-10 Championship.
GW entered the postseason mostly healthy, confident in its draw within the bracket and eager to make some March Madness memories.
McCombs said she sensed her group was ready for an extended stay at the tournament because the focus and attention to detail in film study and walkthroughs was as good as it had been all season.
"I think we all kind of had a chip on our shoulder," Frames said. "In the regular season, we didn't perform the way we wanted to, and the best feeling was knowing that our record was 0-0 going into tournament play. For us, it was a fresh start, and we had something to prove."
The Buff and Blue followed McCombs' favored blueprint for success to spark their run. They locked down on defense, looked to run, crashed the glass and grinded out victories.
In the opener, GW dug out of an eight-point fourth quarter hole to beat the Bonnies, 54-49, led by Frames, whose season-high 17 points included go-ahead and game-sealing 3-pointers late.
The next day, the Colonials led wire-to-wire in a 64-54 victory against the Explorers to avenge a Senior Day loss, with Frames, Taiwo and Sheslanie Laureano in double figures.
The squad's bid to be the A-10 Championship's first No. 12 seed to reach the semifinals came up just short vs. VCU. The Colonials led by as many as three in the final quarter and had it tied on a layup by Laureano with 3:07 to go, but that proved to be their last field goal as the Rams pulled away for a 55-47 victory.
When it was over, McCombs told the group she was proud of them and turned the floor over to departing veterans Frames, Sierra Bell and Maddie Loder.
A graduate transfer via Albany, Frames fought back tears while thanking all involved for making her final season of college hoops a memorable one. The best is ahead, she said, because they have continued to live their coach's mantra.
"We didn't win the A-10 Championship, but we were still pounding the stone," Frames said. "That's the whole point of what we're doing here. It's not to have instant gratification but to stay together and continue working through those tough moments of adversity."
Now, the Buff and Blue head into their first full offseason under McCombs' leadership.
It's an exciting time with most of their rotation eligible to return, including four from the A-10 Championship starting lineup in Taiwo, Laureano, defensive stopper Essence Brown and surging rookie Maxine Engel, and more reinforcements on the way.
McCombs believes memories from this A-10 Championship, from the Miracle movie night through the frustrating finish, will provide the fuel for more growth for this group.
"I was just really proud of what we did over those three days," McCombs said. "Can we get better? Absolutely. But I think the fight that we showed will motivate our team for the future, heading into spring workouts and then into the summer.
"We have a taste in our mouth right now that we need to remember to keep us hungry for more."
Players Mentioned
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