Vanderbilt University crushed the visiting GW women’s basketball team 81-57 in Friday night’s season opener at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn.
The Colonial women’s slow start to open their season cost GW (0-1) as the Lady Commodores (1-0) ran out to a 15-2 lead and never looked back.
GW senior guard Elisa Aguilar and her teammates displayed a disappointing shooting performance of 31.7 percent (19-of-60) for the game. Aguilar struggled from the perimeter, shooting 1-of-10 from the field for four points and going 0-for-5 behind the arc. The Colonial women, whose success this season depends heavily on their perimeter game, shot 1-of-17 from three-point range.
GW freshman Erica Lawrence led the Colonial women with 16 points, the team’s only player in double-digits. Lawrence and fellow freshman Lindsey Davidson led a late first-half surge to close the Vanderbilt lead to 29-24 when Lawrence hit a jump shot with just under four minutes remaining. But three turnovers and a few missed shots cost GW late in the half, and the Lady Commodores were able to extend their halftime lead to 39-28.
The GW defense, which forced 22 Vanderbilt turnovers for the game and kept the Colonial women competitive during the first half, collapsed in the second half. The Lady Commodores took a 58-38 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Senior guard Chavonne Hammond led Vanderbilt with 19 points. Four Vanderbilt players scored in double-digits in a game that saw the Lady Commodores shoot 31-of-52 from the field for just under 60-percent shooting.
They’re much more offensive-minded in the post, said GW head coach Joe McKeown, according to Sports Information. (Candice) Storey (10 points, four rebounds) and (Chantelle) Anderson (14 points, seven rebounds) really hurt us inside. We just didn’t guard them very well in the post, and I think that’s the big difference.
The Colonial women were out-rebounded 42-30 in the game and shot only 64 percent from the free-throw line.
Junior Kristeena Alexander and freshman Cathy Joens scored eight points apiece for GW in the losing effort.
GW will look to regroup from its opening-game loss Monday night at 7 p.m. as the Colonial women host Howard in their home-opener.
