By Andrew Chirico
Senior Writer
To finish their last week of play, the Washington College women’s basketball team hosted McDaniel College on Feb. 16 which ended in a 52-38 loss for the team. In their last game of the season, WC faced Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, Feb. 20 which also did not finish in favor of the Shorewomen. They dropped their home finale 76-55.
To start the week, WC had a tough time containing McDaniel’s Lindsey Nichols who had the game high 16 points. WC did jump out to a 7-6 lead in the first quarter following a pair of free-throws and a three-pointer made by junior guard Ali Grundy. The Shorewomen then were able to contain their lead into the second quarter, leading the Green Terror 9-8 two minutes into the second quarter. Unfortunately for WC, McDaniel never looked back once they gained a 10-9 advantage.
The visiting team scored nine straight points, ultimately leading them into halftime with a 25-15 advantage. Of the eight points scored in the second quarter for WC, six of them came from the bench. Sophomore Jordan Weir stepped up for the offense in the third quarter, scoring six points, keeping the game within seven points midway through the quarter. McDaniel then again went on another scoring streak of 11 to end the third quarter. WC couldn’t trim the 41-23 deficit within the final 10 minutes of play.
Grundy led the team with nine points along with two assists. Sophomore forward Raley Hinton had a game-best eight rebounds, three of those offensively. A big factor in McDaniel’s success came from their ability to score off turnovers. The Green Terror converted 13 points off of 16 turnovers. WC was only able to tally four points coming from 13 turnovers.
Prior to their season finale versus Johns Hopkins, the Cain Athletic Center’s roof had a minor leak right near midcourt. The game was further delayed nearly an hour. That delay did not hold back WC, when the team went on an 8-1 run to start the game off. The Blue Jays responded with a run of their own, giving them a 34-24 lead going into halftime.
The Blue Jays scored the first nine points of the second half, which opened their lead up to 19. Johns Hopkins never looked back and were able to outscore WC by four points in the third quarter and seven in the fourth. Leading WC in points was Grundy with 15. Weir had a career high 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Shorewomen ended their season with a 3-21 overall record, going 0-18 in Centennial Conference play. Although the Shorewomen were only able to win three games, the Shorewomen will not lose a single player from this season. Head Coach Alisha Mosley is happy with how the young team progressed and is optimistic for future growth.
“We have matured on and off the court this season. The team has made a lot of progress. Throughout the year we gained more confidence on how to score, handling pressure, and getting use to the physicality of the Centennial Conference. The future is bright for us,” she said. “With a young team you have to be patient and have goals for the future. We grew together and I am happy for where the program is going. We are one of two teams in the conference who have the potential to return everyone for next season. In the off season we will continue to stress the importance of conditioning and focusing on developing our fundamentals.”
As for the future games, Mosley said “The wins will come.”