The GW women’s basketball team played well enough offensively against the University of Iowa Sunday to keep its disappointing 26 turnovers and 23 personal fouls from hampering a 78-64 win.
This time of year, don’t expect Picasso, Colonials head coach Joe McKeown said after the game. You’re just gonna get imitation art.
The Colonials (3-3) ended their two-game losing streak against a 4-3 Iowa team. GW was coming off a long road-trip, where it absorbed blow-out losses to top-tiered Rutgers University and the University of Connecticut, the defending national champions. The Colonials proved they are a good team, but not an elite force in college basketball.
The Colonials played a much smaller, better-shooting Hawkeyes team. Watching the team on film, McKeown said Iowa, led by perimeter-shooters Lindsey Meder and Cara Consuegra, looks like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson in a game of horse.
His game plan was to shutdown Iowa’s most threatening shooter, Meder, who averages almost 19 points a game. While the Colonials held Meder to only four points, they gave up 40 to Iowa’s players inside the paint. Hawkeyes center Randi Peterson led the team with 18 points.
Our goal was take their perimeter game away, McKeown said. What happened was we let their post play one-on-one. None of their perimeter players scored in double-figures.
The Colonials won the game because they shot considerably better than Iowa and never trailed. GW finished 28-of-52 shooting (54 percent) and Iowa was just 21-of-58 (36 percent).
Five Colonials scored in double-digits, and Petra Dubovcova led with 16 points.
But McKeown started senior Leslie Carlson instead of Petra Dubovcova because the senior forward struggled in the recent road trip, he said.
She’s one of those gifted players that is tall, but she’s agile, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said about Dubovcova. She flashes so hard to the basketball. You just love to have the mobility of those inside players that can flash so hard to the basketball.
For the first 10 minutes in the first half, GW and Iowa scored evenly. With GW ahead 18-17, Corrin Reid nailed a three-pointer that sparked the team and started a 9-0 scoring run. Dubovcova was fouled and hit both free throws. She then nailed another shot from inside the paint, followed by a Vishniakova score. The Colonials eased ahead 27-19, and cruised into halftime leading 41-26.
In the second half, the Colonials committed four fewer turnovers than in the first half. Many of the team’s 26 turnovers came on travelling violations. Lindsey Davidson, who was crucial in keeping Meder from getting good shots, had five turnovers. Alexander and Erica Lawrence each committed four turnovers.
But GW proved it could put up large numbers in spite of such sloppy play.
When you turn the ball over 26 times and scores 78 points, it just goes to show you, you have some fire power, McKeown said.
Davidson and Alexander shut down Iowa’s Meder in both first and second halves. It seemed every time Meder got the ball, one of the two players were in her face. She finished the game just 1-for-11, and 0-for-3 from three-point range.
Alexander scored 15 points dished six assists, often just beating the Hawkeye defense off the dribble. Vishniakova and Reid each scored 11 points.
GW was just too balanced for us, too big for us and just too athletic for us right now, Bluder said.
