VILLANOVA, PA. 11/20/2016 – Villanova Wildcats stayed in contention, but at the end rebounding and inexperience cost them as they lose to the George Washington Colonials 72 – 69 in the home opener at the Pavilion.
“We have an inexperienced team and every time the game got close and inexperienced player made a mistake,” said Villanova Coach Harry Perretta.
GW appeared to take control leading 68 – 62 with 3:47 to play on a basket by Caira Washington, who led the team in scoring with 15 points. The Wildcats would not go away getting to within 2-points twice, the last on a layup by forward Megan Quinn with 6.4 seconds left. Hannah Schaible, who also scored 15, went to the line and made one of two free throws giving Villanova a chance. But the possession resulted in a jump ball with the arrow pointing towards the Colonials.
Villanova is gaining valuable experience as the schedule goes on. One of the emerging players is Jannah Tucker who scored a game and season-high 21 points for the Wildcats.
“It was a tough one where we could have gotten more stops and put the ball in the basket, but we gave the effort,” said Tucker.
“Without her, we weren’t even in the game,” Perretta said about the performance of Tucker. ” She kept us in the game in the first half single-handedly.”
The Colonials held a 49 – 33 edge in rebounds, 18 – 12 on the offensive glass. Washington pulled down a game-best 11 boards, 7 on offense. Forward Brianna Cummings grabbed 8 rebounds. The Villanova team-leader was Quinn with six rebounds and she contributed 18 points.
“It (rebounding) had a major impact on the game,” Perretta said. “We don’t rebound the ball.”
From the charity stripe each team did not shoot it well with GW making 1o of 20 and Nova was 9 of 13.
The Wildcats put up 33 three-point shots making 10 for 30.3%. The Colonials were a little better percentage-wise making 8 of 13.
Villanova goes to Florida to meet Troy in the opening round of the San Juan Tip-off on Thursday. Each game becomes a learning experience and a chance to grow as a team.
“A little bit,” Perretta said about the team coming together more. “But there are too many inconsistencies.”
Written by: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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