Updated: Jan. 24, 2024, at 11:10 p.m.
Women’s basketball (8-11, 1-6 A-10) fell to George Mason (15-3, 6-1 A-10) 57-41 Wednesday afternoon, continuing their three-game losing streak, as the team failed to gain momentum scoring the ball.
GW struggled offensively, shooting a scant 16-64 from the field, a performance that could not keep up with the Patriots. Only two players scored double digits: Graduate student guard Nya Lok led the Revs with 16 points and junior guard Maxine Engel tacked on 10 points.
Sophomore guard Nya Robertson, who leads the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game, had a quiet showing. Robertson scored 5 points — shooting 2-13 in field goals and 0-8 in 3-pointers — in her 26 minutes on the court.
Defensively, the Revs looked a little better, holding the Patriots to 28.6 percent shooting — far below their 41.6 percent average.
“We had a great defensive effort today,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said. “Proud of that defensive effort. We’ve been struggling to put the ball in the basket, so we have to find a way to make shots. That’s probably the biggest thing we need to work as we move forward.”
Graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo pulled down nine rebounds, tallying her career total above 900. With those nine rebounds, Taiwo moved into third place on GW’s career rebounds list with 903, 58 away from former WNBA MVP and current New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, who sits in second place all-time from her time with the program.
“I really challenge myself to get back into what helps my team, which is rebounding,” Taiwo said. “It’s exciting to me that I’ve gotten more off the board in recent games. The number is pretty cool; the people I’m surrounded by on the record list, it’s great company.”
Throughout the first quarter, GW and George Mason remained evenly matched at 14-14, though they both struggled shooting, with 6-18 and 5-14 averages for field goals, respectively.
By the second quarter, the Patriots began to take control, scoring 12 points to GW’s 7. The second quarter marked the Revs’ lowest shooting average, with an abysmal 14.3 percent. At the end of the half, the Patriots led the Revs 26-21.
The second half saw the Revs come out eager to close the gap with Lok and Brown narrowing the margin 5-point within the first two minutes of the quarter by scoring a basket each. However, this effort did not prevail; George Mason continued to pull ahead, securing a 13-point lead at 43-30 by the end of the third quarter.
By the fourth quarter, the game dissolved into an offensive mess as the Patriots pulled ahead with 57-41. GW shot 5-18 in the quarter, unable to close the gap, and GMU’s lead grew, never shrinking to single digits in the fourth quarter.
“We just need to keep our heads down and keep working,” Taiwo said. “Our first season in A-10 play, we were in the same type of position. We kept working, kept going into the gym, kept showing up every day, and eventually, we caught momentum as a team and turned it around. And I still think we have a lot of time to do that.”
The field trip game was filled with young fans, GW faculty members and community members alike. The energetic crowd, especially the youngsters, created a vibrant atmosphere as they stomped along to “We Will Rock You,” sassily shook it off to “Shake It Off” and screeched their support for the Revs, especially when the Patriots were shooting free throws. After the game, the young crowd gathered in the foyer of the Smith Center, eager to receive autographs from the players.
“It’s awesome,” Lok said. “It’s cool to see older people on the court, having these kids inspired to be like us one day. I think they really enjoy being here in the new environment, kind of just watching the basketball game, so it’s pretty fun.”
GW will look to correct the course against Fordham (6-13) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27. Catch the game live at the Smith Center or stream it on ESPN+.
This post has been updated to correct the following:
An earlier version of this post listed an incorrect final score. It has since been corrected. We regret this error.
