The Colonials owned a strong 17 point lead with 5:50 left in regulation, but GW (23-3, 12-1 A-10) couldn’t send its starters to the bench to finish out the last moments of the game.
VCU chipped away at GW’s lead by capitalizing on a 9-0 scoring drought and sinking clutch shots from the perimeter. The Rams were able to cut lead to 61-56, but head coach Jonathan Tsipis knew what he needed to do to keep his team in the driver’s seat.
But VCU’s drive was immediately shut down when senior guard Lauren Chase finished with a dagger to kick the lead back out to eight after head coach Jonathan Tsipis called a timeout to help his team refocus and close out the game.
The Colonials pulled out the 65-57 victory by penetrating the zone, controlling the pace of the game and crashing the boards to get second and third chance opportunities.
The dynamic duo of posts junior Jonquel Jones and sophomore Caira Washington both notched double-doubles on the night, contributing 31 points and 30 boards combined.
Even though Washington reached some foul trouble early, racking up three in the first half, she was able to use her height advantage to drive in the basket and box out for rebounds including seven off the offensive glass.
“I knew that they were going to switch screens and I would have a smaller guard on me, so I took advantage of that and tried to get to the basket,” Washington said. “Our guards did a good job of looking for us, both me, J.J. and Kelli.”
Even though Jones and Washington were the statistical leaders, Tsipis said sophomore guard Hannah Schaible was the one who got the ball rolling for the Colonials in the first half. Schaible finished the night with 13 points and eight rebounds.
“The activity level was good from the start,” Tsipis said. “And I thought Hannah Schaible set that tone. She was ready to shoot, she was hunting down loose balls and getting those offensive rebounds.”
VCU had good hustle and raw physicality, but the team did not have the numbers to shake GW. The Colonials had composure and patience from the line where they shot 81 percent while the Rams were a shaky 42 percent from the stripe.
With only three games left to scout in the regular season, Tsipis said he is confident his team will be prepared to matchup against Fordham, who currently sits in the fourth spot in the conference leaderboard, on Saturday at 2 p.m..
The Colonials solidified a top four seed with a bye in the tournament with the win, but Tsipis said his players have a lot of pride and will do whatever it takes to clinch the No. 1 seed.
“My concern is more ‘are we ready for a really good Fordham team that we’ve not had a chance to play at home yet since I’ve been here?’,” Tsipis said. “You have to protect your home court and we need to continue to play our best basketball as we head into the tournament.”
