This post was written by Hatchet reporter Agam Mittal.
After splitting its first two games under first-year head coach Jennifer Rizzotti, women’s basketball (2-1) picked up its second consecutive win on Wednesday, blowing out Coppin State at home, 77-46.
“We’re very happy with the win today,”Rizzotti said. “I think sometimes you get to these mid-week games and it can be easy to overlook an opponent that doesn’t have a big name. I was really pleased with their intensity and their energy and their execution.”
The Colonials took advantage of their size inside, outrebounding the Eagles 59-33, and found opportunities for forward Caira Washington whenever she was on the floor. The senior was a force on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds, posting a game-high 16 points and a career-high six blocks.
“Georgetown outrebounded us by 17, and since then it’s been an emphasis to put a body on someone and not just run to the basket and try to jump over everybody,” Washington said. “I think we boxed out really well today, and we want to continue that throughout the season.”
Helping Washington off the bench, graduate transfer Lexi Martins chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds of her own. Martins’ polished post-game was on display all night, including a pretty up-and-under basket in the third quarter that had the bench celebrating.
GW moved the ball fluidly in a fast-paced first half, racking up 20 assists to Coppin State’s 8. The Colonials built a comfortable lead after the first quarter, which allowed Rizzotti to give playing time to less-experienced guards who will be asked to play significant minutes later on this season, namely Mei-Lyn Bautista and Camila Tapias.
Tapias, a junior guard, broke out of a mini shooting slump, scoring a career-high ten points – including two three-pointers in the first half. Bautista, a sophomore combo guard, pushed the pace and facilitated several fast-break opportunities.
“We’ve got two point guards very inexperienced at the position – Camila [Tapias], who hasn’t really played a lot in her career, and Mei-Lyn [Bautista], who played a lot more of the two than the one last year,” Rizzotti said. “They’ve been doing a great job of taking care of the ball better.”
The Colonials also locked down defensively, holding Eagles’ starting point guard Genesis Lucas to only two points on 1-for-10 shooting and forcing five turnovers. Lucas was coming off of a 10-point performance against Virginia on Sunday, a game in which she played all 40 minutes.
Coppin State was led by senior guard Keena Samuels, who recorded 17 points and six rebounds. However, poor team shooting doomed the Eagles – they shot only 25.8 percent from the field and missed all eight of their first-half three-point attempts. The Colonials also blocked a season-high 13 shots.
“Our gameplan was to come out strong defensively and to not let up – to make sure to get to help side, not foul,” Washington said. “We knew that they were a team that gets to the basket, so one of our main goals was to control penetration and I think we did that very well coming out.”
Their staunch defensive performance was also on display in the third quarter, when Colonials held the Eagles to just four points and one made field goal.
In total, a season-high ten Colonials found the basket on Wednesday night as Rizzotti was able to experiment with different lineups and go deep into her bench for the first time this season.
“The more experience I can give them in the early part of the year, the more I’ll be able to count on them later,” Rizzotti said. “Its nice when our starters are in a groove, but I think it’s good for them to know that they’ve got guys coming off the bench and know there’s no drop off in our intensity.”
The Colonials play their next four games on the road, including a matchup against national championship runner-up Syracuse. Up next, GW will travel to Villanova, Pa. to take on the Wildcats Sunday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
