This post was written by Hatchet reporter Barbara Alberts.
The Colonials traveled to Villanova Sunday afternoon where they went head-to-head with the Wildcats in a game that saw four Colonials score in double-figures.
Despite weak free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter, the Colonials (3-1) eked out a three-point victory over the Wildcats (1-2), 72-69. The decision marks the Colonials’ third win in a row and first on the road.
Senior forward Caira Washington led the way her 30th career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
“We went in with a plan and we all executed,” Washington said. “Not just myself, even those rotating off the bench, so we all played our part…I’m beyond excited to get the win.”
Washington and senior guard Hannah Schaible scored 15 points each, with junior guard Brianna Cummings scoring 11 and junior guard Camila Tapias matching a career-high 10 points.
“I was happy to see us really share the ball today, with 17 assists and 4 players in double figures, and also dominate the boards at the same time,” head coach Jennifer Rizzotti said.
The Colonials came out hot in the first quarter, with the defense holding the Wildcats to only 11 percent shooting from the field and 0-5 from behind the arc. The visitors clogged the key and forced the Wildcats to shoot outside, where they were extremely cold, going 27 percent percent from the field and 2-for-9 from beyond the arc in the first quarter.
Foul trouble and a GW shooting drought, however, opened up the court for the Wildcats, who closed in rapidly on the early Colonial lead.
With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, a double-bonus floor foul on a made three-point shot for the Wildcats sent sophomore guard Adrianna Hahn to the line and gave the Wildcats and easy five points and put the Wildcats within one point of the lead, with the Colonials heading into the second quarter leading 15-14.
Quick offensive play by the Wildcats at the beginning of the second quarter allowed Villanova capture the lead from the Colonials after a quick shot by Villanova’s Jannah Tucker put the Wildcats up by 1.
Cummings – who added eight rebounds and two assists – responded quickly with a made field goal to regain GW’s edge.
“I just came in and I really wanted to be aggressive offensively, attacking the rim,” Cummings said. “I wanted to get some rebounds and help out my team as well.”
Sophomore guard Mei-Lyn Bautista entered the second quarter and quickly put up a deep triple to help maintain the offensive momentum of the Colonials, who were shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc at the time.
The Wildcats, however, clawed their way back into it, capitalizing on another Colonials’ offensive drought. GW, unwilling to give up, remained tenacious under the hoop. Washington came up clutch in the paint, scoring 11 points on the offensive end of the court and stifling the Wildcats with 5 rebounds under the hoop in the first half.
Washington grabbed an offensive rebound and put up an impressive buzzer-beating layup after Cummings’ drive to the hoop rimmed out to tie the game at 32 heading into halftime.
Schaible entered the third quarter with her usual hustle, forcing a turnover that led to a two-point bucket right out of the gate.
The Wildcats responded and eventually pulled ahead 39-36 on a flashy reverse-layup by the Wildcats’ Megan Quinn.
The tides turned for the Colonials, however, when Tapias started dropping her three-point shots.
A deep three by Tapias – who went 3-for-4 from distance on the day – tied the game 39-39 and sparked a big offensive run that pushed GW’s edge to 49-41.
The Wildcats came out blazing in the fourth quarter after two quick points and two made free-throws put them within three points of the Colonials once more.
Weak free-throw shooting by the Colonials resulted in missed scoring opportunities and kept the Wildcats in the game. Despite scoring 15 points in the game, Washington only went just 1-for-6 from the charity stripe.
A 6-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter by Wildcats saw them finally heat up from the outside, dropping two quick three-pointers and narrowing GW’s lead to two points.
The Colonial defense then picked up the slack, with players like graduate transfer forward Lexi Martins playing big in the middle, contributing nine rebounds on the day and preventing the Wildcats from making easy shots.
Clutch free-throws from Schaible in the game’s final seconds solidified the 72-69 victory.
“We played well even when they started to come back,” Washington said. “We stayed calm and composed and we executed the offense and the defense and that’s what helped us win this game.”
GW now heads to Estero, Fl. to take part in the 2016 Gulf Coast Showcase. They will battle 2016 NCAA Tournament runner-up Syracuse in game one on Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
