Sometimes, a team’s record doesn’t tell the whole story.
GW’s contest at Rutgers Wednesday night will be a tally in the loss column after the Colonials fell 56-52. But the score won’t tell how the team, which was bounced out of A-10 tournament in the first round last year, stuck with a program that received a NCAA tournament bid last season.
“I’m proud of our team,” head coach Jonathan Tsipis said.”They came on the road, in the first road game, to a team you know is going to be in the postseason.”
“Our goal is to be the team that outworks everyone,” Tsipis added, a goal the Colonials easily achieved Wednesday night.
GW largely stayed close with Rutgers through the first half, finishing at the break in just a four-point hole. The Colonials and the Scarlet Knights had roughly the same shooting percentage, GW finishing the half with a 33.3 percentage and Rutgers only three percentage points better at 36 percent.
The Colonials completely shut down Rutgers’ outside game, keeping it from establishing a formidable long-range presence as the Scarlet Knights went 0-for-5 from three-point range on the first. On the game, Rutgers tallied an 0-for-8 stat line on treys, missing every attempt it took.
The success of GW’s press defense was easily seen in the number of times it was able to force Rutgers to run down the shot clock, Tsipis said.
“When they did get late in the shot clock, they didn’t get as good of looks because they were more stationary,” Tsipis said.
Though Rutgers only forced four more turnovers than GW on the first, the Colonials struggled to produce offensively beyond their starting lineup. The team could only eke two points from its bench on the first, a debilitating statistic for a program that relied on its backup players to inject its game with a spark of energy in contests past.
Throughout the game, GW utilized just eight players, sending only three Colonials onto the hardwood aside from its starting five. But that was Tsipis’ plan, the head coach said after the game, given the challenging nature of GW’s opponent.
“I think part of that is that I have enough experience coming in with Notre Dame to know this is whole other level of play from a physical standpoint,” Tsipis said. “I think that biggest thing our bench needs to bring us is energy.”
The halftime adjustments on display during GW’s contest against UT Arlington came through again Wednesday night, with the bench turning into an essential component of the Colonials’ gameplan in the second half.
Senior guard Shi-Heria Shipp tallied eight straight points to help pull GW ahead of Rutgers, capped by senior forward Megan Nipe’s arching three-pointer to put the Colonials on top 38-32 with 12 minutes and 35 seconds to go. Shipp ended with eight points and two steals, Nipe with eight points and three rebounds, while graduate student forward Sara Mostafa and senior guard Danni Jackson lead all GW players with 10 points and three boards and 10 points and three assists, respectively.
“I thought we got more in transition in the second half,” Tsipis said. “I think somtimes when you get that, the basket opens up a little more, especially coming off the bench.”
The experience of Rutgers was seen in certain columns of the stat sheet: the Scarlet Knights maintained a considerable advantage on the boards, gathering 10 more on the first and earning a 41-30 overall advantage.
“When they have at least four not five kids six-three or bigger who are all very active and athletic, we really needed to do it by committee. That’s something we talked about at halftime, that was just the difference in the game. Even though it was only the four-point [score] difference,” Tsipis said. “I thought we did a much better job in the second half even though it was minus one rebounding, I thought we did a much better job boxing out and rebounding.”
The overarching theme of the game was that of a tight, gritty contest. With a minute left, Rutgers was only up by two. Neither team could change the 54-52 score, and GW called a timeout with 12 seconds left. But when they returned to the court, the Colonials were forced to foul, and Tsipis called a timeout after Rutgers senior guard Erica Wheeler sunk her first free throw. Out of the timeout, the second layup was good – and Jackson couldn’t sink a layup at the buzzer to adjust the final score.
He went to Jackson because of her calm, heads-up play throughout the game, Tsipis said, and she filled the leadership role he needed.
“Our team feeds off of her,” Tsipis said. “It was crucial that Danni maintain the calm pressure.”
And overall, despite the loss, Tsipis remained positive about his team’s play and prospects. GW showed a willingness to outwork its opponent Wednesday night, he said, which is vital.
“You hope they see that, one of the first things we put on our board, is to be able to compete and do things you can control,” Tsipis said. “I think it’s a team that likes the idea of being the team that is going to outwork the opponent.”
