GW WBB looks to rebound in home opener

By: Joseph Politano

After losing their season opener to Princeton 72-52, GW looks to rebound in their home opener against the South Dakota State Jack Rabbits. We’ll preview the matchup, stats, and everything you need to know before tip off at 6:30!

The GW Colonials

In their game against the Princeton Tigers, the Colonials struggled to find consistent offensive scoring and ball movement. The team went through most of the third entirely scoreless until Senior Forward Kelli Prange scored 6 consecutive points. Prange had a amazing night overall, scoring 21 points on 9-19 shooting. The Colonials will be running much of their offense through both her and Junior F Kelsi Mahoney. Look for the colonials to also change up their ball movement and inbounding strategies a bit, as turnovers cost them significantly against the Tigers.

The South Dakota State Jackrabbits

The Jackrabbits are coming off a dominant 92-48 performance against NJIT where 5 scorers put up double digit numbers. Redshirt Junior Guard Macy Miller lead all scorers with 21 points on 9-12 shooting. Redshirt Senior Chynna Stevens also had a double-double off the bench with 14 rebounds and 15 points. The team shot for almost 44% within the arc, and used their significant height advantage to score 72 points on the inside.

Matchup

The Colonials are going to have to fight for baskets on the inside if they want to win this game, which means significant defensive responsibility is going to fall on 6’1 Kelsi Mahoney and 6’5 Kelli Prange. On offense, it’s more important they take their time to develop smart plays through ball movement to generate openings rather than trying to fight one-on-one. The team shouldn’t  rely on two or three main scorers the way they did Friday. It’ll be a tough game either way, but if the Colonials make the necessary adjustments they’ll be in good shape to win. I predict Colonials bounce back and win 63-60.