This post was written by Hatchet reporter Brennan Murray.
Suffocating defense and strong three-point shooting were the keys again for the Colonials Saturday night, pushing them to a defiant 80-44 rout of the Houston Baptist Huskies, GW’s fourth consecutive victory.
It’s the Colonials first four-game win streak since the 2008 season.
GW (5-3) shot exactly 50 percent from outside the arc, forcing 27 Houston Baptist turnovers. The combination of offensive clout and defensive might provided an overwhelming combination for the winless Huskies.
“I was happy to see us shoot 50 percent tonight. That’s always our target goal. I’m trying to point out to the girls that when we shoot a good percentage, our defense is going to take care of itself. That allows us to play with just about anyone on our schedule,” Bozeman said.
The Colonials asserted control early on in the game. After just a few minutes of play, warm-up jerseys were nowhere to be seen on the GW bench.
Bozeman sent substitutions to the court in packs throughout the game, rotating through every available player on his roster. And every one of those players scored at least once.
Especially notable were the freshman contributions to the team’s victory. Freshmen guard Chakecia Miller, guard Bria Bourgeois and forward Adrienne Phillips added 10, five and two points, respectively. Miller also added four rebounds, four assists and five steals to the effort.
“[Cha]Kecia Miller is already calling out a place for her in our rotation,” Bozeman said. “Those guys are important to our success. They help our depth and they give us quality depth.”
The upperclassmen presence was felt too. Senior guard Tiana Myers, though still recuperating from a hamstring injury, hit all three of the three-pointers she took and ended with a team-high 15 points. Senior forward Tara Booker added 10 points of her own, while senior guard Kristin Aldridge added six points and dished out six assists and junior guard Danni Jackson posted nine points, three assists and a steal. Redshirt junior forward Brooke Wilson was a consistent force on the defensive side, gathering a game-high 12 rebounds and stealing the ball four times from the Huskies.
Wilson’s play was symbolic of the rest of her team’s defensive performance, an effort categorized by aggressive and unyielding play. The Colonials tightly controlled Houston Baptist in a full court press, holding the Huskies to just 35.2 percent shooting.
“It’s going to be one press or another press. And that’s what depth allows you to do,” said Bozeman. “If you look back over the history of basketball, any team that presses an awful lot has quality subs. And right now we’re developing our bench to be quality.”
There is one match in particular that Bozeman knows will be a test of his team’s capabilities: No. 20 (ESPN/USA Today) Georgetown. The Colonials take the court against their District-rival Dec. 11, but Bozeman said his team isn’t overwhelmed by the upcoming opponent, confident in their abilities.
“We’re going to play our system. I believe that we have what it takes to compete against anybody. So we’re going to go into that game just like we went into the game against Auburn and just like we went into the game against Virginia Tech and other conference foes,” said Bozeman. “ We still have a taste of winning and we want that taste against an opponent such as Georgetown.”
