Despite only turning the ball over six times in the game, women’s basketball (13-8, 6-3 A-10) was unable to repress a red-hot Duquesne offense at home Sunday.
After being held to single-digit scoring in the first quarter, the Colonials couldn’t bounce back as two Dukes scored more than 20 points in the 73-63 decision to hand GW its second straight loss.
Senior forward Caira Washington was on the sidelines with a wrist injury for the fourth straight game, while Duquesne forward Amadea Szamosi looked unstoppable on both ends of the court, finishing the night with 24 points and 14 rebounds.
“[Caira] is our best defender, she’s almost like two people out there defensively,” Rizzotti said. “I think their post players were really physical with ours, and I think she would have been able to combat that a little better than our other guys did.”
Despite a hotly-contested third period in which the Colonials were within two points of the lead, Duquesne (12-11, 5-5 A-10) continued to attack the key and ultimately walked away with 32 points in the paint.
GW closed the night shooting 31 percent from the field with eight made-threes, and grabbed 26 defensive rebounds to the Dukes’ 36.
Junior guard Brianna Cummings led the team with 13 points and seven rebounds and graduate student Lexi Martins picked up 12 points and 7 boards on the night.
The game was an uphill battle for GW from the start, with Szamosi putting up four unanswered points in transition before Martins split a pair of free throws at the line to give the Colonials their first point midway through the first quarter.
The size advantage of the Dukes was apparent. The Colonials went with a small frontcourt lineup and a man-to-man defense, but nothing was working.
GW went 2-for-20 from field-goal range in the first quarter with one made-three to close the period down 13-7.
Martins, alongside senior guard Hannah Schaible, sat on the bench for the majority of the second quarter after getting in foul trouble.
While Duquesne’s outside shooting was equally poor, the biggest sore spot for the Colonials’ defense was in the paint. The Dukes closed out the half with 20 points on the inside, leading 31-23 at the break.
The Colonials’ offense came alive in the third quarter when their shooting started clicking.
Martins nailed a bank-shot from the elbow of the key and senior guard Shannon Cranshaw drained a deep three-point shot. Cummings came up big as she made two nearly identical drives to the basket that helped push GW’s offensive momentum.
“Bri [Cummings] was one of the people that I think kind of came out with some confidence today and some determination to play better,” Rizzotti said.
Despite outscoring the Dukes 16-14 in the third, Szamosi still prevailed. The forward picked up another eight points in the quarter, neutralizing any progress the Colonials had made.
GW was fighting a losing battle in the fourth as they were unable to keep the Dukes at bay, trailing 39-45.
Senior guard Hannah Schaible was tenacious under the hoop, grabbing three rebounds in the period and five of the Colonials’ 14 offensive boards on the night.
“It’s hard because teams are seeing that on the scouting reports, so they’re hitting me even harder and harder,” Schaible said. “I just have to fight through.”
Cummings continued her strong offensive drive in the fourth quarter, grabbing two more boards and seven more points, but it was repeated trips to the free-throw line that solidified Duquesne’s win.
Duquesne’s Vojinovic closed the night with 21 points after going 14-for-16 from the line.
Even without Washington in the game again tonight, Rizzotti sees her absence as an opportunity for her team to grow.
“It allows us to really take a look at what we’re not doing well and make some adjustments so that when [Washington] comes back we can be better,” Rizzotti said.
“We’ve just got to keep plugging away and fighting through the little bit of a slump we’re having, and come through on the other side better off for it.”
The Colonials return to action on Wednesday when they host Fordham at noon.
