Women’s basketball head coach Mike Bozeman knows the problem his team has. Wednesday night’s 52-45 home loss to Auburn wasn’t the first time that the Colonials have struggled to put together two consistent halves of basketball, although it might have been one of the best examples of the obstacle currently facing the team.
The Colonials shot 17.9 percent from the floor in the first half and got out-rebounded 31-18 before halftime. GW shot 50 percent in the second half and matched the Tigers’ second-half rebounding total of 18, but GW couldn’t keep Auburn from getting offensive rebounds and ultimately found the first-half hole the Colonials had dug for themselves to be too deep.
“Absolutely can’t start the game in the fashion that we did. Scoring 15 points in a half, it doesn’t matter much what you do at that point, Xs and Os wise. We were getting looks that we wanted, we just weren’t finishing,” Bozeman said after watching Auburn grab 13 more offensive rebounds than the Colonials. “You can’t do that against an SEC team, you can’t do that. You can’t dig that kind of a hole and then give them that taste of blood in the water, so to speak, as it relates to offensive rebounds. It looked like they were missing on purpose so they could get closer because they were gonna get an offensive rebound,” he added.
GW was led on offense by junior guard Tiana Myers, who had 12 points and was the only Colonial in double figures against the Tigers. Junior Tara Booker had eight points, and all but two GW players scored against the Tigers. Booker led the Colonials in rebounds with eight.
While Bozeman effortlessly diagnosed the issue his team has struggled with this season, finding a solution won’t be so simple for the third-year head coach.
“I’m gonna do everything. I’m gonna change the pre-game meal. I’m gonna change what we’re drinking. I’m gonna change their sleeping habits. Maybe we’ll stay up later, maybe we’ll go to a party tonight, we’re going to bed so early. I mean, I don’t know,” Bozeman joked. “There’s not gonna be a rock left unturned by us. I’m gonna find it and it’s gonna be a whole team effort. We’ll be okay at the finish.”
Even despite the slow first half, GW was far from overmatched against the Tigers. The Colonials allowed Auburn to shoot just 29.7 percent from the field, and a late 10-1 run from GW closed the Tigers’ lead to as small as seven points with under two minutes to play. The resilience his team showed in the second half was a silver lining, Bozeman said, but it didn’t take away from the sting of dropping the contest.
“This game was so right there for us. We’ve gotta get over the hump on that,” Bozeman said. “It’s discouraging that it was right there. Moral victories, I’m not interested in those right now.”
Wednesday’s night’s game was GW’s last at the Smith Center before the Colonials open Atlantic 10 play Jan. 8 against Richmond. GW will travel to American University Saturday before heading south for the Mayfair Hotel & Spa Holiday Classic in Coral Gables, Fla., for a pair of games against Miami and Morgan State. Myers said that even after the loss, she felt like she and her teammates were moving in the right direction.
“We can’t harp on tonight’s game, it’s always on to the next game,” she said. “I think we’re still in a good spot, because we’re learning and we just have to get over the hump.”
Tip-off for Saturday’s game against American at Bender Arena is set for 2 p.m.
