Monday, May 11, 2015

Women's 2014-15 Season In Review

As a season ticket holder for GW Women's Basketball for the past 16 seasons, I've seen a lot of good teams pass through the Smith Center. I remember the back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in the 2007 & 2008 NCAA Tournament. Who could forget Sarah-Jo Lawrence's last second shot to beat Cal 55-53. As an eight year-old yelling his lungs out at the TV, glad he got to stay up late to watch his Colonials in the Tournament. Yet- as specials as those teams were, this season felt just a little bit sweeter.


True, this year's team didn't make as far as the 2008 team did, so maybe its because I'm really old enough to appreciate it all now. But the undeniably special feel of this season is a feeling I can't quite shake off. The three days in Richmond, with three thrilling victories, ending with the team cutting down the nets, was a special experience that I had yet to witness live, and were without question, the most fun days as a GW sports fan.


Yes, not even the 2005-06 Men's Basketball team's incredible ride that season could top the feeling I had standing on the floor of the Richmond Coliseum, watching the girls take pictures with the A10 Championship trophy with their families, some overcome with various emotions. The sheer joy and excitement of Bria Bourgeois hugging everyone in sight, including me, and Coach Richardson high-fiving anyone with a free hand cannot be matched or replicated.


Because this team did the seemingly impossible from the start of the season: overshadow the Men's team and their season with their own story, that they wrote every single day on the court. Despite the fact that GW was picked second in the pre-season A10 poll, I couldn't quite figure out how well I expected this team to do. The previous 5 seasons hadn't seen a NCAA Tournament birth, and produced teams with talent, but missing that little extra to put it over the top.


This team did all that and then some. racking up a school-record 29 wins, 15-1 record in the A10, and only one loss to a team that did not make the NCAA Tournament (Saint Louis). After an opening night road loss at Florida Gulf Coast, and a close loss to Final Four-bound Maryland, GW set the world on fire, with a 19 game winning streak, including a road win at Dayton, ending the nation's longest home winning streak.


In total, GW racked up three wins over Elite Eight-bound Dayton, A10 Regular Season Championship, A10 Tournament Championship, A10 Player of the Year (Jonquel Jones), A10 Coach of the Year (Coach Tsipis) and an NCAA Tournament birth for the first time since 2008.


Perhaps the most astonishing thing of all is that GW only graduates two key-role player (Chakecia Miller and Lauren Chase) and brings in a recruiting class filled with promise, and a core group of 5-6 players, any of which can take over a game at anytime. The future is bright in Foggy Bottom for GW Women's Basketball, and I look forward to next season!
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Thank you for reading my 2014-15 Women's Basketball Season in Review! I'll be writing my season predictions for both Men and Women once the schedule comes out!
I would like to thank the entire Team, Staff, and everyone else who was a part of this amazing season! Let's make next year even more special!
Go GDub! #RaiseHigh

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