Women’s basketball (5-4) lost 64-61 to Coppin State (7-5) on Tuesday, with the Eagles outscoring the Revs 10-7 in overtime.
The game was close throughout, with neither team ever leading by more than 6 points. Freshman guard Gabby Reynolds led the team with 13 points, one of three GW players scoring in double figures that night, alongside sophomore forward Sara Lewis with 11 and graduate student forward Paige Mott, who scored 10.
GW opened the game to a 6-0 in under three minutes, with three players scoring. Coppin State was able to come back to a 15-13 lead with a minute left in the quarter, as the Revs struggled with turnovers ending the quarter, coughing up the ball with each of their last three possessions.
The second quarter saw the Eagles build a 26-21 lead six minutes in, but GW quickly climbed back to a 27-26 lead, with Lewis knocking down two straight layups. She finished with 11 points and led the team with 10 rebounds.
Overall, GW out-rebounded Coppin State 46-27.
“Gang rebounding, getting the guards to crash, everyone in the paint fighting for that rebound. That’s tough work, and so I applaud our team for doing that,” Lewis said postgame.
Entering the third quarter in a tied game, Coppin State picked up a 37-31 lead in four minutes. GW quickly responded to tie the game again with three quick buckets, two from Reynolds and one from Lewis. Coppin State ended the quarter up 44-43 after a buzzer-beating bank shot three-pointer from sophomore guard Cire Worley.
The two teams traded leads throughout the fourth quarter until a three-pointer from Coppin State senior guard Tiffany Hammond put them up three points with just over three minutes remaining. After over two minutes of no scoring from either team, senior forward Maxine Engel knocked down a three-pointer of her own to tie the game at 54-54 with 37 seconds left. Engel had struggled on three-point shooting this season, missing her last 15 attempts since the team’s opener against Delaware last month.
“Max is a terrific shooter,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said. “And I know she’s had a lot of shots his year, and we trust her regardless of if she’s made or missed the last 10. We still feel like that shot’s going in for Max. ”
After a Coppin State missed a layup, a last-second jumper from Mott hit off the rim to send the game to overtime.
Notably, graduate student guard Makayla Andrews played only 15 minutes and was not on the floor during the closing stretch of the fourth quarter or overtime. Entering the game, Andrews led the team in scoring averaging 13.9 points per game. McCombs said she was looking to ride with players who were in a “flow” after trying different lineup combinations throughout the game, with 12 GW players making appearances.
“I don’t think we typically play that many people, but just really looking for a rhythm and who was hot and what was the good connection with those five people on the court,” McCombs said.
Three quick GW buckets in overtime, including a three-pointer from Reynolds, gave GW a 61-56 lead with just under three minutes left. They would not score again.
Coppin State ended the game scoring 8 unanswered points, but two missed free throws from Coppin State opened a window for GW to send the game to double overtime. Both Reynolds and Engel shot three-pointers that bounced off the rim, ending the game with a 64-61 score.
GW will travel across town to take on American University at Bender Arena Monday at 7 p.m.
