Updated: March 7, 2024, at 11:54 a.m.
Coming off a three-game winning streak, women’s basketball (13-17, 6-12 A-10) are looking to redeem their season against Saint Louis (15-17, 9-9 A-10) on Thursday in their first game of the Atlantic 10 Championship in Henrico, Virginia.
The upperclassmen-dominated team looks to redeem themselves against Saint Louis, who they previously fell to in a 56-66 game on Jan. 20 at home. The team will also enter tournament play in the second round at a higher seed after Davidson’s sudden cancellation of their season due to injuries.
Thursday’s game could also be the last for both graduate student guard Nya Lok and graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo, stalwarts of GW basketball. Lok has accumulated over 1,000 career points and Taiwo surpassed over 1,000 career rebounds.
“It could be our last game, so making sure we leave everything out on the floor,” Lok said. “We got to play every game like it’s our last.”
Taiwo’s Feb. 21 start against Duquesne marked Taiwo’s 131st game for the Revs, earning her a program record for most games played. Earlier in the season, she struggled to land her shots, not landing in the double digits for points until the Nov. 23 game against West Virginia in the Puerto Rico Shootout, where Taiwo collected 11 points. She averaged just 4 points per game over the first six games, compared to under 11 points in her six most recent.
In her January face-off against Saint Louis, Taiwo went 46.2 percent from the field, accumulating 11 rebounds.
“It’s always nice when we get a second crack at a team and fix what we didn’t do in the first game,” Taiwo said. “And even though we lost the last game, we felt like it was our game to lose.”
Lok led the Revs with 19 points in her last game against the Billikens, going 3 for 6 from beyond the arc. Last season, the Revs dropped a 64-76 loss against Saint Louis on the road, but Lok collected nine rebounds and 17 points, the second-highest on the team behind then-freshman guard Nya Robertson’s team high of 18 points.
The Revs are currently ranked 11th in the A-10 conference, several positions under eighth place Saint Louis. The Billikens’ graduate guard Kyla McMakin was named to the A-10 All-Conference Second team and junior guard Kennedy Calhoun and graduate guard Julia Martinez were named to the All-Defensive team.
The season has been a difficult one in regards to offensive shooting, with the Revolutionaries shooting 36.9 percent from the field, the 40th worst field goal percentage nationwide. Their current three-game winning streak points to their improved team dynamic through the season. The Revs also amassed six consecutive from mid-January through early February.
Senior guard Asjah Inniss said the team’s cohesion has fostered connections beyond the court and will allow them to succeed on the road.
“Having relationships that are off the court,” Inniss said. “We’re a very close team. And I think that that’s what’s going to carry us across the finish line.”
The Revolutionaries will face off against the Saint Louis Billikens on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Henrico, Virginia.
This post was updated to correct the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly spelled the name of Billikens’ graduate guard Kyla McMakin. We regret this error.
