A peek at the box score will tell you a fairly accurate tale of the matchup against Massachusetts on Wednesday night. You will see that the first quarter could have been a completely different game—played by a different Colonials team.

After trailing the 6-12 (0-6 A-10) Minutewomen at the conclusion of the first set, the 16-3 (6-0 A-10) Colonials were able to battle through an injury and turnover problems and come away with a 67–50 victory.

“We’re happy to get a win,” said head coach Jonathan Tsipis, ”UMass came out with a lot of confidence and in the first and we were relying on somebody else to get the ball off a deflection or missed shot. In the second quarter we did a much better job defensively and getting out in transition. That then carried over into the third quarter.”

In the first quarter UMass came out strong. Minutewomen sophomore guard Cierra Dillard hit a three and GW junior forward Caira Washington answered it the next possession with a three-point play. After a back and forth battle for the first seven minutes, the Minutewomen were able to pull ahead behind their efficient shooting (56.3 percent from the field compared to Colonials’ 33.3) and finish the quarter leading 19-15.

In the first, senior forward Rashida Timbilla recorded 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals on 4-4 shooting. She ended the game with a team-high 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, recording the only double-double on the floor. Timbilla played 37 minutes and was the focal point of the Minutewomen offense throughout the effort.

Neither team was able to sustain a run in the first quarter due to sloppy play including nine turnovers for both sides.

“We just were not playing the way we could,” junior guard Hannah Schaible said. “We needed to start doing what we are good at. We needed to limit the turnovers, just focus in, and play basketball”

After the 10-minute mark, the Colonials took control of the game. In the second quarter they shot an improved 43.8 percent, limited themselves to three turnovers, and locked down on defense. A fade away jumper by Washington and a layup by sophomore forward Kelli Prange gave GW a 32-25 lead going into the half.

In the first seven minutes after the break, Schaible and the rest of the Colonials made it clear that it was their game for the taking. The Colonials went on a 12-point run led by Schaible (7 points) and graduate student guard Lauren Chase (5 points). During that span they did not allow the Minutewomen to make a basket. Schaible ended up finishing the night tying her career-high of 18 points along with four rebounds and two steals.

“I just had some fire in my shoes, I was just getting to open spots that I could get a shot,” said Schaible, “It has always nice having such a good rebounding presence because you know that if you shoot and miss, your teammates can score off of it, so it is kind of like an assist.”

Just as the Colonials stretched their lead to 13, the largest it had been to that point, A-10 Player of the Week and senior forward Jonquel Jones went down hard. Jones remained out for the rest of the game with an apparent shoulder injury. Details of her injury have yet to be released but she spent an extended period of time on the ground and did not return to the bench.

The rest of the team stepped up and continued the dominance despite Jones’ absence. The Colonials lead reached 29 points and going into the fourth quarter the win was not in question despite the devastating injury.

In the last six minutes of the game, Coach Tsipis put in the reserves and the lead dipped below 20, but there was not enough time for the Minutewomen to mount a comeback. Substitutes such as freshman guard Mei-Lyn Bautista and senior forward DaLacy Anderson played important roles for the Colonials on both sides of the floor, providing energy off the bench.

Bautista finished with eight points and two assists including two of the team’s five three-pointers. She appeared to be much more comfortable with the ball and confident in only her sixth A-10 game.

“My teammates just told me, ‘be you, be yourself’ and [Coach Tsipis] always says, ‘believe in yourself’. So as soon as I started believing myself I felt comfortable playing my game out there,” said Bautista.

The win gives GW its eleventh-consecutive victory and extends its unblemished A-10 record. After a St. Bonaventure win, the team remains at second place in the Conference with 10 games to go.

The Colonials return to action on Friday to host George Mason. Tip off is scheduled for 12 p.m. after being rescheduled from 2 p.m. Saturday due to the weather.