As Monday night’s road game against Rutgers approached the halfway mark of the first half, the women’s basketball team seemed well on its way to snapping its losing streak. Thanks to what would become a career effort from junior Sara Mostafa, GW had a commanding nine-point lead.
The Scarlet Knights, however, had a different plan, overtaking the Colonials with scoring runs at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half that paved the way for a 60-50 Rutgers victory.
Mostafa exploded in the first half for 17 points, scoring the first 14 points of the game for the Colonials. In the second, however, Rutgers adjusted its defense to key on Mostafa, holding her to just six points after halftime, giving her a career-high 23 for the night. With their top scorer effectively sidelined by a tough defense, the Colonials failed to produce a replacement, struggling offensively in the second.
No other GW player scored double-digit points Monday night. Junior Tara Booker put up the second most points for the team, ending the night with eight points coming off a career-best effort in the Colonials last game against Morgan State.
GW shot 40.7 percent in the first half, thanks largely to Mostafa’s success finding the bottom of the net. The Colonials crumbled offensively in the second half, shooting just 29 percent under heavy pressure from the Scarlet Knight defense. The Colonials also struggled to keep their hands on the ball against Rutgers, committing fifteen turnovers that the Scarlet Knights converted into 15 points. GW ended the game with a field goal percentage of just 34.5 percent.
GW especially struggled with the deep ball Monday night, converting just two of 23 three-point attempts to shoot just 8.7 percent from beyond the arc.
The Colonials will look to snap their five-game losing streak as they return to the Smith Center for the first time in 2011 on Saturday. GW will open up Atlantic 10 play Jan. 8 against Richmond at 2 p.m.