This post was written by Hatchet reporter Agam Mittal.
Thanks to scrappy guard play and a balanced effort on both sides of the ball, women’s basketball picked up its first win of the season under first-year head coach Jennifer Rizzotti Sunday, defeating Princeton at home, 56–45.
GW (1–1) started the game shooting just 2-for-15 from the field, missing all six of their three-point attempts and turning the ball over five times. Princeton’s zone defense stifled the Colonials for the first 15 minutes and neutralized junior forward Kelli Prange and forced senior forward Caira Washington to the bench with two early fouls.
“We anticipated they would play a lot of zone, but it’s always different when you see it for the first time,” Rizzotti said. “I thought our guys really adjusted and made some good passes and got some really good looks at the basket.”
GW’s sloppiness and poor three-point shooting continued to hurt them in in the first five minutes of the second quarter, as the Colonials fell behind 20–12.
Rizzotti turned to guard Hannah Schaible for an offensive spark, and the senior’s hustle and scrappiness provided instant energy. Schaible posted a career-high five steals, drew a charge, and added four assists and five rebounds to help GW recapture a 26–21 lead by closing the half with a 14–1 run.
“When it comes to hustle plays, for me, they’ll always come – I may not always be in the right position, but I’ll find a ball eventually,” Schaible said. “I think that’s big for my own mentality – I get one, and I want to get another one, another one and then another one – that’s kind of what drives me throughout the game.”
Off the bench, graduate transfer forward Lexi Martins played lockdown defense in the first half, recording a career-high three blocks to hold Princeton’s star freshman Bella Alaire to only five points and two turnovers through the first 20 minutes.
“I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable, getting used to a faster level of play and playing with different girls,” Martins said. “Hopefully as the season goes on, and practice goes on, I’ll get a little bit more comfortable being out on the floor with them.”
Washington, who returned in the second half after her early foul trouble, was good for two blocks as the Colonials allowed only one basket through the first five minutes of the third quarter. The Colonials stretched the lead to 10, but a quick 8–2 spurt by the Tigers cut the lead back to four, 35–31, with the Colonials offense again looking for answers.
With Schaible needing a breather, Rizzotti turned to her bench. Sophomore Mei-Lyn Bautista and freshman Kendall Bresee, who scored five points off a three-pointer and a strong drive to the rim, helped propel GW to another 10–2 run as the Colonials finished the third quarter strong with a 45–33 lead.
“We really have five guys that could easily start on a lot of different teams, and they’ve accepted that role because they know that they’re important to our success,” Rizzotti said. “To be able to put Kendall [Bresee] in and have her score five quick points and defend and rebound, is a luxury that I have.”
In the fourth quarter, GW had great execution on offense as ball movement helped the team grab an 18-point lead – their largest of the game – before a late 9–1 Tigers run cut it down to 10. But after allowing a fourth quarter comeback on Friday at Georgetown, GW conceded just four field goals and forced five turnovers in the final period to secure the victory.
Rizzotti noted that she was pleased with the Colonials’ defensive intensity on Sunday, as they held the Tigers to 30.4 percent shooting clip and threw several different defensive schemes at a Princeton team that graduated 71 percent of its players last year.
“I’ve been really happy with our defense the last two games,” Rizzotti said. “We’ve been able to go back and forth between man and zone. I think that helps disrupt teams, especially a young team like Princeton that doesn’t have a lot of experience.”
Although she was pleased with her team’s defense, Rizzotti also noted improvements that could be made on the offensive side of the ball.
“Certainly we want to continue to run in transition and get some easy baskets, but we do need to get better at our half-court execution,” Rizzotti said. “I thought for most of the second, third and fourth quarters they looked pretty good, and we got a lot of really good shots.”
Up next for the Colonials are the Coppin State Eagles. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Smith Center.
