Women’s basketball defeated Coppin State 55-41 on Saturday, riding a 24-point third quarter to the team’s fifth victory of the season.
Graduate student guard Nya Lok led the team with 14 points, shooting 6-12 from the field and 2-3 from three, accounting for half of the team’s four makes from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Nya Robertson, who leads the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game, is nursing an undisclosed injury and did not play in the game.
“I’m just really proud of the team today,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said. “We’ve had a lot of people in and out of our lineups, and so coming together and seeing them play the way that they did today, I thought that was really important for our growth.”
The team built an early lead, with a Lok layup cementing an 8-2 lead three and a half minutes into the game. Both teams struggled to score in the first half, with the Eagles going 8-26 from the field, while the Revs went 10-31. An 8-0 run by Coppin State gave the Eagles a 21-20 lead with 1:41 remaining in the half, although a jumper from senior guard Asjah Inniss gave GW a 22-21 halftime lead.
The Revs went 4-16 in the second quarter, scoring just 9 points in the period. This has been a common occurrence for the team, who have scored 10 or less in the second quarter in three of the past four games.
Coming out of halftime with just a 1 point lead, the Revs dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 24-6.
“I think we’re a better third-quarter team,” McCombs said. “Our second quarter hasn’t been the best quarter for us consistently.”
Graduate student guard Essence Brown kicked off an impressive 17-point run eight and a half minutes into the third quarter with a 3-pointer, making the most of her return to the lineup after being out since Nov. 15. In the quarter, the Revs held the Eagles to just 1-11 shooting from the field and 0-5 from deep.
“Our quote of the week by [Assistant] Coach [Adam] Call was ‘control your attention,'” Lok said. “And that’s something we kept trying to emphasize in each quarter.”
Graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo scored a season-high 12 points, tying with Inniss for second on the team. Now playing alongside graduate student forward Maren Durant, Taiwo has struggled to find the same scoring success she did last year, when she reached double figures 12 times.
“Mayowa is somebody that we rely on a lot,” McCombs said. “And because she’s playing with Maren, she’s scoring in maybe some different areas. She’s getting right to the rim, getting great shots, I think they just haven’t fallen for her.”
The Revs now stand 4-0 when playing in the Smith Center this season compared to their 1-5 record in away or neutral-court games. This game marks the first of a four game homestand for the Revolutionaries, and the squad said they’re optimistic about the stretch as they have gone undefeated at home thus far.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s home, so things just feel better,” Inniss said. “You practice on it Monday through Friday. So I feel like it’s just that feeling of having that support system back home as well.”
The team will take on Hampton next Saturday, Dec. 16, at 2 p.m. in the Smith Center.
