Behind 26 points from standout sophomore Gabby Reynolds, the George Washington women’s basketball team outlasted Southern Indiana, 61-58, to advance to the program’s second WNIT Super 16 appearance.
Playing its first game in 17 days, Southern Indiana jumped out to an early 16-10 lead in the first quarter as both teams looked to find consistent offense. GW failed to register a point for the latter five minutes of the frame, before Reynolds buried a three-pointer with 15 seconds left, snapping USI’s 12-0 run and cutting the deficit down to six.
Both teams traded buckets in the second, with the Screaming Eagles maintaining their six-point advantage into the halftime break. Head Coach Ganiyat Adeduntan‘s halftime adjustments worked wonders as the Revolutionaries used a 7-0 run to open the quarter and retake a one-point lead.
After a 14-4 run put USI back up by nine, GW managed to get it within seven heading into the final quarter. With the season on the line, the Buff & Blue came out swinging in the fourth, cutting Southern Indiana’s lead down to one in less than two minutes, and recapturing the lead with four minutes to go on two Kamari Sims free throws. GW would never trail again, using clutch buckets down the stretch from Reynolds and Sara Lewis (11 points and 10 rebounds) to salt away the win.
The victory gets GW back to .500 at 17-17 on the year, and the contest also tied the program record for most games played in a single season at 34, a record GW will break on Friday when it hosts Loyola Chicago in the third round of the WNIT at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+. A win would give GW its longest run in the tournament in program history, topping the 2013-14 team, which made a Super 16 appearance as well.
