Updated: Feb. 6, 2018 at 9:10 p.m.
Women’s basketball captured a win on the road Sunday afternoon when the Colonials traveled to Olean, N.Y. to take on St. Bonaventure.
Senior guard Brianna Cummings led GW (10-11, 6-4 A-10) to the 63–56 win over the Bonnies (7-17, 2-9 A-10), collecting 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds and two assists in the match.
After a victory over La Salle Thursday, the Colonials won their first back-to-back games since the first week of January – keeping their standing in the top half of the Atlantic 10.
Forwards senior Kelli Prange and junior Kelsi Mahoney both scored in double digits, contributing 10 and 12 points, respectively.
The Colonials started the game by putting pressure on the Bonnies, forcing four quick turnovers in the first six minutes of the game.
“We made a couple adjustments in our press so that we could be matched up more,” Cummings said. “They did a good job of breaking the press before and we wanted to eliminate that.”
Throughout the game, St. Bonaventure controlled the boards – leading the Colonials by 16 and securing 30 defensive rebounds. But the Colonials scored 17 points on 17 Bonaventure turnovers, giving GW more offensive opportunities.
“Offensively, we took care of business,” Cummings said. “We weren’t taking as many outside shots and were getting more layups and inside touches.”
GW gave up just five turnovers in the day’s game and now leads the A-10 in fewest turnovers per game – good for a top-30 NCAA ranking in the category.
After a four minute scoring drought at the beginning of the second quarter, the Colonials responded with 6-0 run behind a foul shot from Cummings and a three-pointer from Prange.
Despite holding the Bonnies to only 10 points in the second quarter, the Colonials were outrebounded 25-15 in the first half. With a shot off the backboard by freshman forward Chyna Latimer, the Colonials ended the first half on top, 26–23.
Shooting only 40.7 percent from the field during the game, the Colonials struggled to find their offensive groove until the second half.
Senior guard Camila Tapias started off the half leading a 5-0 run with a three pointer, giving the team an eight-point lead and creating momentum for GW to hold onto the higher score for the rest of the game. Tapias contributed 10 points, three rebounds and two assists on the game.
Cummings said the team’s three-point shooting has not been where they wanted this year and the team has been looking to get more shots underneath the basket.
Despite GW being up in the fourth quarter, the Bonnies made strides to close the lead on the Colonials and were only down by two points near the end of the second half. GW was able to hold onto its lead in the fourth quarter and came out on top by seven points.
“We had a lot of mental toughness in the fourth quarter,” Mahoney said.
Head coach Jennifer Rizzotti said she attributed the team’s success in the second half to the composure the players had when the game got close.
“We just kind of came down, ran offense and got a lot really good shots in the last five minutes of the game,” Rizzotti said.
Next week, the Colonials will take on George Mason and Dayton – two strong A-10 competitors the team has already faced this season.
The Colonials will face the Patriots in Fairfax, Va. Wednesday night. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
This post was updated to reflect the following correction:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that the Colonials’ next game is on Thursday. The game is Wednesday. We regret this error.
