Women’s basketball fell to Rhode Island on the road, 47-64, snapping a five-game conference win streak that vaulted GW to fourth place in the season standings.
The Colonials (16-9, 8-4 A-10) were lethargic on offense and struggled to limit the conference-leading Rams’ (10-4, 12-0 A-10) second chance opportunities and proficiency from deep. Rhode Island built an early lead and never lost their momentum as they continued their spotless A-10 run.
GW got on the board with their fourth attempt as redshirt senior forward Mayowa Taiwo converted a second-chance layup to make it 4-2 with 6:49 to go in the first quarter. Taiwo led GW in both points and field-goal percentage, putting up 12 points on 6 out of 10 shooting.
Rams’ junior forward Mayé Touré continued her hot start with her third putback layup to give her all 9 of her team’s points through five minutes, with the Colonials still just having the single score on the board. GW responded with an 8-0 run of their own over the next three minutes, including 5 from Taiwo, making it 10-9 with 1:50 to go in the first quarter.
The lead was short lived as Rhode Island sophomore guard Sophie Philips and graduate guard Sayawni Lassiter netted a pair of 3s to wrap up the quarter 15-10. The Colonials shot just .385 percent from the field and shot four times from the 3-point line without success in the first quarter compared to the Rams’ .462 percent and two out of seven shooting.
The second quarter remained a struggle for GW on both sides of the court, scoring just 10 points while allowing 18 to Rhode Island. Despite shooting just 20 percent for the quarter, the Colonial defense kept the game within single digits until midway through, before graduate guard Madison Hattix-Covington netted one from beyond the arc to push the score to 27-15.
Taiwo responded on the other end with an inside score of an assist from junior guard Taylor Webster. With just a minute to play, the Colonials found themselves down a manageable 11, at 31-20, before the Rams scored 7 points to close the half, including a wild buzzer beater by freshman guard Ines Debroise from well beyond half court.
The most striking discrepancy in first-half offensive production came from behind the 3-point line, with GW failing to convert any from long range after seven attempts, and Rhode Island making six on 14 tries.
The second half opened slowly for both squads, but a pair of free throws from Hattix-Covington extended the Rhode Island lead to 22 at 42-20, the largest gap of the night. Graduate forward Mia Lakstigala chipped away at the deficit with a contested layup to make it 25-42 with 6:35 to go in the third quarter.
Spearheaded by Taiwo, who leads the A-10 in rebounding at 10.2 per game, rebounding has been a strong point for Colonials so far this season with a 4.7 average rebounding margin. But the rebounding battle proved to be another advantage for Rhode Island, as they controlled the glass 48 to 34.
The last three minutes of the third saw just three total made field goals, punctuated by a last-second fast-break layup from freshman guard Nya Robertson to make the score 50-33.
Nya Lok started the fourth quarter with a quick burst of scoring, dropping 5 points on two shots in just over a minute, but it did not ignite the large comeback the Colonials needed. The Rams offense slowed in an effort to milk the clock, and they were able to comfortably hold their advantage as the quarter wrapped up.
GW’s five game A-10 winning streak still has them well positioned as they find themselves less than a month away from the conference championship.
The Colonials will continue their road stretch as they take on Saint Louis Saturday at 8 p.m.
