Women’s basketball was eliminated from the A-10 Championship with a 52-41 loss to the fifth-seeded University of Rhode Island.
After defeating Loyola Chicago 65-44 Wednesday in the first round of the tournament, GW’s inability to capitalize on their foul shots and costly turnovers end their championship aspirations after two games. Despite leading much of the first half, the 12th-seeded Revolutionaries (13-17, 5-13 A-10) couldn’t keep up with the Rams (16-15, 11-7 A-10) in the third quarter.
Turnovers and seven fouls put the Rams on the free throw line, where they sank 80 percent at 21-26 for the game. This was the Rams’ first game of the tournament as the fifth seed. In the matchup with the Revs last week, GW defeated URI 54-46.
The Rams’ junior forward Hawa Komara shot the game’s first point using hustle, along with sophomore guard Sophia Vital, who teased her continuous ability to steal from the get-go only 1:57 into the quarter. Freshman guard Gabby Reynolds sank a 3-pointer assisted by graduate transfer guard Makayla Andrews for a one-point lead at 7-6. The two starters took turns until sophomore forward Sara Lewis provided six points by the last 30 seconds of the first quarter.
The Revs led by two to start the second quarter, with Andrews throwing a three-pointer beyond the arc at 3:24, stirring the crowd after two missed shots. The Rams used the second quarter to shoot 100 percent from the free throw line, tallying four points before Vital made the last point for the quarter with a three.
In the span of a quarter, the Rams were able to overcome a deficit to take the lead with the help of Debroise, who ended the matchup with 11 points. Seven of those came from free throws, two from put-back opportunities and one from a steal.
Both teams struggled through the third quarter, with the Revs finding 16.7 percent of their shots while the Rams scored no field goals.
Rhode Island Head Coach Tammi Reiss said GW’s 18 turnovers contributed to achieving their goals for the game. She said the free throw line was key to their success since they are “not built as” a primarily offensive team.
“We missed a lot of bunnies today, but we got back because we didn’t settle for just chucking up 3-point shots or settling in the first half,” Reiss said after the game.
There was a scoring dry spell straight out of the half on both sides until Rams’ senior center Harsimran Kaur made two separate sets of free throws. Five minutes after the half, sophomore guard Kamari Sims tied up the game 33-33 from what was an established lead of three by the Rams.
Lewis committed a second foul of the quarter in the last minute and GW’s seventh turnover left them four points behind the Rams. Two more free throws from Kaur solidified the Rams’ advantage by five at 38-33 to start the fourth.
Interim Head Coach Doug Novak said GW got into “foul trouble” against efficient free throws that provided the Rams with “easy” buckets. He said that his Revs kept on coming forward instead of stretching out, which left them in a tough spot against the Rams’ strengths on defense.
“When a good defensive team smells that it’s like a shark, and then they just, they’re just on top of you,” Novak said.
Vital connected a jumper on her second 3-pointer of the game 1:37 into the fourth for an eight-point lead at 41-33.
The Revs struggled to make a dent in the Rams’ one-sided possession save for their own free throws, adding four points to their total. GW closed their gap to four at 41-37 for only four seconds of gameplay in the fourth.
Novak said he was proud of the team for competing from the beginning and to the end with “great joy,” not letting their emotions get away from them despite losing the game. He said they played hard despite the situation his team was in with the late season coaching change.
Novak took over as interim head coach last month following three straight women’s basketball losses and Director of Athletics Michael Lipitz announcement that Head Coach Caroline McCombs would be stepping down, effective immediately. Novak ends the season with one win in the regular-season finale against Rhode Island and a win in the tournament on Wednesday.
“Very mature to see that group do it despite the circumstances and really finish the season off strong, and they’ll have those memories for the rest of their lives,” Novak said.
As the only true senior on the team, forward Maxine Engel ended the game with no points but seven defensive rebounds. In her four years at GW, the Memphis, Tenn. native averaged 4.2 points per game with 2.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists.
