Shorthanded and on the road, Northwestern (6-6, 0-1 B1G) hung around early but couldn’t match George Washington’s (8-5, 1-0 A-10) fourth-quarter surge, losing 75-62 in Joe McKeown’s homecoming for its sixth straight loss.
The Wildcats were plagued by the absences of Grace Sullivan, Casey Harter and DaiJa Turner in Sunday’s contest. Without those three key contributors, NU was led by 17 points apiece from Tayla Thomas and Caroline Lau. First-year Angelina Hodgens tacked on 12 points, easily clearing
her previous career high of five.
George Washington was headed by 21 points from Gabby Reynolds and 16 from Emma Theodorsson. The Revolutionaries dominated inside, outrebounding the ‘Cats 43-33.
After an early violation on the tip for GW that gave the ball to Northwestern, Thomas got things going for the Wildcats with a quick jumper for an early lead. The Revolutionaries didn’t take long to respond, with Jaeda Wilson sinking an early three-pointer for their first advantage.
George Washington continued to build an early lead with Tanah Becker converting two free throws and Wilson sinking another three-pointer, giving GW a 8-2 edge just three minutes in. Both teams would trade a couple misses until NU finally was able to respond to the 8-0 run with two Crystal Wang free throws, her first points as a starter in her collegiate career.
With the ‘Cats shorthanded, Hodgens got some early minutes. She converted two free throws, bringing the ‘Cats back within two heading into the first timeout of the game with 4:58 remaining in the quarter.
Defense remained the theme out of the timeout until GW turned it into points with a Theodorsson layup. Shortly after, the Revolutionaries converted an NU turnover into the team’s third 3-pointer of the game.
Closing the first quarter, the teams continued to suffocate one another on defense. The Wildcats shot 16.7% from the floor, and the Revolutionaries didn’t fare much better at 28.6%. If not for NU’s 6-of-8 mark from the line, the deficit would’ve been much worse, with the ‘Cats only down 16-10 after the first ten minutes.
It was more of the same to open the second quarter until Northwestern started finding some life offensively. The ‘Cats outscored the Revolutionaries 6-2 in the first three minutes before GW took a timeout to stop the bleeding.
After trading steals out of the timeout, Thomas kept NU’s scoring outburst alive with a layup to briefly tie the game at 18. But Becker took the lead right back with a layup of her own, pushing GW back in front.
The Revolutionaries, who averaged just 6.3 made threes per game entering Sunday, continued to shoot well from beyond the arc as Theodorsson made the team’s fourth triple of the game with five minutes still remaining in the second quarter. GW would build off that momentum, stretching its lead to 26-18 before Northwestern decided to take a timeout. Following the break, the scoring margin reached 10 before Hodgens forced her second steal of the game and finished a last-second layup, cutting the lead down to 32-24 at halftime.
Closing the first half, Theodorsson led GW with nine points, and Wilson was close behind with six on two triples in the first quarter. For NU, Thomas put up nine points of her own along with two blocks, and Hodgens added seven points, already eclipsing her previous career-high of five.
Thomas continued to lead the way for the Wildcats sinking an early jumper for the first points of the half. GW leading scorer Reynolds, who had a quiet first half, got off on the right foot, making yet another three-pointer for the Revolutionaries.
The typically pass-first Lau got busy on the scoring end, making a layup and the Wildcats’ first triple of the game to get them within striking distance at 35-31. After starting the half on the bench, Theodorsson got right back to work, making the Revolutionaries’ sixth triple of the game and putting the team back up seven points.
About a minute later, no one picked up the speedy Lau in transition as she flew coast-to-coast for any easy layup. GW quickly answered on the next trip again with the first points of the game for Colleen Phiri, steadying the lead at 40-33 at the first media timeout of the half.
Phiri wasn’t done, moving to seven points on the quarter with a bucket in the paint and an and-one to put GW ahead by 11. Lau was having none of it, sinking her second triple of the game bringing the margin back to eight points with 3:14 left in the quarter.
Phiri continued to power the Revolutionaries, this time from beyond the arc with a three-pointer that gave her ten points in the quarter. Northwestern was still able to respond, as Thomas got those points right back with a converted and-one, giving her 14 points.
To end the quarter, Reynolds got an and-one opportunity but was unable to convert the free throw. With four seconds remaining in the quarter, Lau grabbed the defensive board and took it across half court for a last-second three just below the logo, bringing the GW lead down to 52-44.
To open the final ten minutes of the game, Reynolds went on a personal run with six quick points that extended the Revolutionaries’ lead to 58-44, their largest of the game. Thomas responded with another layup, but Theodorsson was right there with a jumper in response.
Claire Keswick was able to make her mark in her first minutes, sinking NU’s fourth triple of the game. Reynolds responded with a three of her own, but Northwestern would make it look like a game, going on a 8-0 run off of threes from Hodgens and Kat Righeimer and a layup from Lau.
Keswick continued making noise off the bench, making another triple that brought the ‘Cats within seven points with two minutes remaining. Sara Lewis would make a layup for her first points before Hodgens canceled it out with a layup herself.
With time dwindling and GW in the bonus, Reynolds forced Northwestern’s hand, getting to the charity stripe twice and sinking all four shots to bring the lead back to double digits. Despite NU’s promising run at the end, the game was all but sealed, with Sims making two more free throws with 24 seconds remaining to give the Revolutionaries a 75-62 win.
Up next, the ‘Cats will return to conference play on Dec. 29, taking on the No. 22 Washington Huskies in Seattle at 7 p.m. CST.
