Women’s basketball notched their second win of the season Monday, toppling Howard 83-62 after taking off with an early lead in a high-scoring first quarter.
The Colonials (2-1) put 26 on the board in the first quarter on their way to the program’s highest-scoring game since 2015, powered by freshman guard Nya Robertson who nailed four shots from 3-point range. The GW team was in sync on both sides of the court, beating down the Bison (1-2) with 20 turnover points and a powerful performance from the bench, which accounted for 53 points in total.
Graduate student Mia Lakstigala got the action started for GW when she knocked down a three in the first 14 seconds off an assist by junior guard Asjah Innis. Innis scored a bucket of her own minutes later on a tough mid-range jumper to put the Colonials up 6. Innis would go on to score 10 points, shooting 5 of 7 shooting from the field.
Freshman guard Nya Robertson extended the lead with two minutes left in the first quarter on a contested fast break layup. Robertson, in just her third collegiate game, lit up the box score, scoring 27 points and shooting above 60 percent on the night including a 4 for 7 showing from deep.
“Some of the things that are outstanding about Nya is just her ability to play with or without the ball in her hands and we have some veterans around her as well that really help out,” Head Coach Caroline McCombs said in a post-game interview. “She’s learning and I think our system and style allows her to get the shots that she can be successful at shooting.”
To seal off the first quarter, junior guard Aurea Gingras knocked down a 3-pointer that put GW up 9 with just 5 seconds remaining on the clock.
The second quarter didn’t feature the same shooting display as the first, but the Colonials still managed to extend their lead. After the Bison cut their deficit to 7 in the early minutes of the quarter, GW would go on a 15-7 run on their way to a 15-point halftime lead.
Redshirt senior forward Mayowa Taiwo pulled down 6 rebounds in the quarter, tallying a game high 14 through four quarters.
“Her being a dominant force down low is really important for us,” McCombs said of Taiwo’s solid presence in the paint.
The third quarter followed a similar pattern as the second, with the Bison managing to trim the lead early before a late GW run put it out of reach. This time Robertson led the charge, dropping 11 in the quarter, including three makes from long range.
The Colonials ended the quarter up 18, their largest lead of the night to that point, propelled by a 4 for 8 shooting performance from beyond the arc.
The lead never fell below 15 points in the fourth quarter, and McCombs began to cycle out some of her starters for reserves, allowing 11 different players to see the floor.
GW not only set its highest score of the young season but also tallied the most points since dropping 85 points against Grambling State in 2015. The Colonials’ 12 3-pointers fell at a 48 percent clip, nearly matching the 52 percent shooting percentage from the floor.
The bench also showed up for GW, scoring 53 points while Howard’s reserves only managed 19.
“We do believe everyone can come in and contribute,” McCombs said. “I think we might have played 10 people in that first quarter as well. So I thought we were pretty deep in our rotation.”
The Colonials will take on American University in another District showdown Thursday at 7 p.m.