The GW women’s basketball team continued its skid on the road as they fell 93-53 at No. 6/5 Tennessee (AP, ESPN/USA Today) Tuesday. GW kept pace through the first five minutes of the game, but after taking a 10-9 lead, the Lady Volunteers used a 45-14 run to close out the first half and take command of the game.
The Colonials (2-4) have now lost four games in a row – all on the road – and GW’s deficit in those four losses is a combined 103 points. Playing in Knoxville was certainly not the cure for an ailing and reeling squad.
“It’s an event when you come to play at Tennessee,” head coach Mike Bozeman said following the game. “[Tennessee head coach Pat Summit] is an icon, a Hall of Famer and the team is well-coached. It’s hard to miss 40 shots out of the 60 that you take and stay in a game like that.”
The undefeated Lady Volunteers were led by sophomore forward Alyssia Brewer’s 23 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore forwards Shekinna Stricklen and Glory Johnson each posted double-doubles; Johnson reached hers in the first half.
GW had three players in double figures, but sophomore center Sara Mostafa only scored five points while sophomore forward Tara Booker, in her third start of the season, did not get on the board and missed all eight shots she took.
Mostafa still managed to grab eight rebounds, but she was plagued by foul trouble and could not get it going. Sophomore guard Kay-Kay Allums scored a career-high 16 points and picked up six rebounds to spark the Colonials, while sophomore guard Tiana Myers and freshman guard Megan Nipe each poured in 11 points of their own.
The Colonials’ ultimate downfall was their 18 turnovers compared to Tennessee’s nine. In turn, the Lady Vols scored 32 points off turnovers while GW only managed to score nine. Tennessee also manhandled the Colonials in the paint, out-rebounding them, 49-40, and out-scoring them, 54-12. Overall, GW shot only 34.4 percent from the floor while Tennessee was able to convert over 47 percent of its shots.
“You’re never going to play mistake-free basketball all day, but what you can’t do in a place like this is make consecutive miscues,” Bozeman said. “We were up 8-7 at the first timeout, and we make four straight turnovers and they turn that into a 12-point run. You just can’t do that.”
Even though the Colonials’ effort came up short, Bozeman is proud of his team.
“I think that the tough schedule that we’re playing right now, and the tough circumstances that we’re playing in, are only going to make us better when it comes around for conference time,” he said.
GW is now 0-10 all-time against Tennessee.
Despite the lopsided final score, Bozeman takes solace in the fact that his team was only outscored by 10 in the second half.
“Each game has its own life, really,” Bozeman said. “Our spirits our high; we see how we’re growing. We’ve lost four in a row, but we’ll have time to make those up.”
GW has one more game to cap off a five-game road swing and they’ll keep it in the SEC as they take on Auburn on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
