Game eight: Women vs. Rutgers

The #14/12 women's team faces #6/7 Rutgers (1-1) tonight at the Smith Center. This contest features the two highest-ranked teams, men's or women's, ever to meet at the Smith Center in its 33 years. On Wednesday, GW (3-0) got a career-high 29 points from Jessica Adair and a second straight double-double from Antelia Parrish (24 points, 16 rebounds) in a 75-65 home win over Kentucky.

The Scarlet Knights, picked to finish second in the Big East, were tabbed at #3 in both preseason polls. Last season, Rutgers went 27-9 and was the national runner-up, falling to Tennessee 59-46 in the NCAA Tournament title game. Coach C. Vivian Stringer is in her 13th season with the Scarlet Knights, holding a record of 258-156; she is 778-261 in 37 seasons as a head coach.

Rutgers returns all five starters from last year's national runner-up squad. They are led by 5-8 senior guard Matee Ajavon (eight points per game), 6-0 senior forward Essence Carson (13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds per game), the Big East Defensive Player of the Year for each of the last two seasons, and 6-4 junior center Kia Vaughn (5.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 blocks per game). All three players were preseason All-Big East selections, and were named to the Wade Trophy Watch List, the award given to the best Division I player. They are joined in the starting lineup by 5-9 sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince (16.5 points, eight rebounds per game), who made headlines in high school for scoring 113 points in a game, and 6-1 junior forward Heather Zurich (five points per game).

Rutgers fell to #7/8 Stanford 60-58 at home in the season opener last Sunday. In that one, Prince inexplicably fouled Candice Wiggins roughly 80 feet away from the basket with 0.1 seconds left in a tied game. Wiggins connected on both free throws to complete the upset. On Friday night, the Scarlet Knights used a late 17-2 run to pull away from Creighton in a 62-43 win in Piscataway, NJ. Prince had 17 points and seven rebounds to lead the way. She was joined in double figures by Carson (10 points) and 6-4 sophomore center Rashidat Junaid (10 points, six rebounds, four blocks).

This is the 34th-ever meeting between these former Atlantic 10 rivals; GW is 8-25. The last meeting came on December 29, 2002 in Piscataway, which Rutgers won 87-72. In the last contest at the Smith Center, the Colonials triumphed 58-54 in overtime on December 12, 2001. GW is 5-8 at home against Rutgers.

Coach Joe McKeown has said that he wants his team to become a "giant killer" again. While the Colonials have played the likes of Maryland, Tennessee, and North Carolina closer over the past couple of years, the program is yet to have such a marquee victory. While I certainly think the Colonials can win tonight, I just don't see it happening.

Julian Gompertz and Greg Shapiro have the call for WRGW with David Earl and Jared Fox handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 7.40 p.m. Quint Kessenich and Charlene Curtis have the call for ESPNU. You can watch live starting at eight p.m.

Game notes: The current senior class is 3-6 against ranked teams in regular season non-conference games...They are 1-1 at home in such contests...GW is 3-0 for just the eighth time in the program's 33-year history...The Colonials have the eighth-longest home winning streak (15 games) in the nation...It is the fifth-longest home winning streak in program history...The longest was 35 games from February 1995 to March 1997...Sarah-Jo Lawrence is 28 points shy of becoming the 24th 1,000-point scorer in program history...McKeown is 15 wins shy of 500 for his career...McKeown is 4-3 vs. Stringer and 8-11 against Rutgers...McKeown and Stringer have combined for 1,263 career victories...Stringer and McKeown rank second and 22nd respectively on the active coaching wins list...Rutgers was 9-7 against ranked teams last season...The Scarlet Knights were a member of the Atlantic 10 before moving to the Big East for the 1995-1996 season.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. I will be doing live blogging all night, so please check back later.

Update, 7.49 p.m. - Here are the starting lineups:

Rutgers
G - Matee Ajavon (5-8 senior from Newark, NJ)
G - Epiphanny Prince (5-9 sophomore from Brooklyn, NY)
F - Essence Carson (6-0 senior from Paterson, NJ)
F - Heather Zurich (6-1 junior from Montvale, NJ)
C - Kia Vaughn (6-4 junior from Bronx, NY)

GW
G - Kimberly Beck (5-8 senior from Fairburn, GA)
G - Sarah-Jo Lawrence (5-11 senior from Rhoadesville, VA)
F - Whitney Allen (5-11 senior from Woodbridge, VA)
F - Antelia Parrish (6-0 junior from Washington, DC)
C - Jessica Adair (6-4 junior from Washington, DC)

Update, 8.01 p.m. - The turnout in the student section extends into the upper level, while the attendance on the opposite side is halfway up the yellow seats. From what I can see, the Rutgers turnout isn't quite as large as was initially expected. Beck now being honored for becoming the 23rd player in program history to have 1,000 career points, which occurred on a three from the corner in the second half of the game at Maryland-Baltimore County last week.

Update, 8.11 p.m. - In recent games against powerhouse programs, the Colonials would often get beaten up on the inside and play with some hesitance. The fact that GW is handling its business in the paint thus far and doesn't look intimidated could be the biggest difference between this squad and the ones of recent years. Allen picks up her second foul less than three minutes into this one. McKeown is going to need his defensive stopper to be smart for the rest of this half.

Update, 8.14 p.m. - At the first official timeout, this has been an extremely entertaining game. The Colonials have absorbed the first Rutgers blow, showing they can play on the inside and the outside. There is no fear or intimidation on the faces of any of the GW players. What a difference a year makes.

Update, 8.19 p.m. - GW does not respond well to Rutgers' first application of a full-court pressure defense, as Lawrence loses the ball, which leads to an easy Scarlet Knights basket the other way. The Colonials are settling for some bad shots on the offensive end and leaving shooters wide open on defense. McKeown is going to have to tighten things up, as GW trails by seven with 12.45 to play in the first.

Update, 8.23 p.m. - GW has missed five straight from the field during the 8-0 Rutgers run that has extended the lead to 10. Allen, Beck, and Vaughn all have two fouls.

Update, 8.30 p.m. - With the Colonials down 11, McKeown has no choice but to bring Allen back in with two fouls. Rutgers is playing incredible defense, holding GW to 4-16 (25%) shooting from the field with just under eight minutes to play in the half. Ajavon is an incredible player; she has nine points already and has made Beck, a multiple time All-Defensive Team selection in the A-10, look foolish on a couple of moves.

Update, 8.36 p.m. - Now two fouls apiece for Vaughn, Ajavon, and Carson. GW is 4-19 (21.1%) from the field and 1-4 (25%) from the free throw line. Never a good sign when you have more team fouls (six) than field goals with six minutes left in a half.

Update, 8.42 p.m. - Jessica Adair is 1-7 from the field, while Beck and Lawrence are both 1-4. That's not going to get it done against this very talented Rutgers squad.

Update, 8.44 p.m. - In men's team news, The Hatchet is reporting that Travis King will undergo surgery on his injured knee and miss the remainder of the season. Certainly not good news.

Update, 8.51 p.m. - GW trails 36-19 at the half. This may be surprising to hear, but it could have been worse. McKeown certainly has a lot of adjustments to make during intermission. 19 points is the least for GW in a half since recording 22 points in the first half at #1 Maryland a year ago. The Colonials shoot 7-30 (23.3%) in the first half, while Rutgers goes 14-27 (51.9%). Beck, Lawrence, and Adair are a combined 4-19 from the field.

Update, 9.09 p.m. - Rutgers has its largest lead of the game at 20. Lawrence came out and hit a three to start the half, but the Scarlet Knights responded with back-to-back threes of their own. This could be a long night.

Update, 9.13 p.m. - The Hatchet, playing the role of the grim reaper tonight, is now reporting that Rob Diggs is slated to have x-rays on his injured wrist tomorrow. Not a good night to be a GW basketball fan.

Update, 9.17 p.m. - Since Lawrence's three to open the half, it is a 9-0 Rutgers run as we hit the first official timeout of the second half.

Update, 9.21 p.m. - GW's switch to a three-quarter court pressure defense has had no impact on Rutgers, as it is now a 14-0 Scarlet Knights run since Lawrence's three to open the half.

Update, 9.30 p.m. - GW ends the 20-0 Rutgers run with a Jessica Adair free throw. The most lop-sided home loss during the McKeown era came on November 27, 2001 to #2 Tennessee by a score of 88-57. Will tonight surpass that one?

Update, 9.44 p.m. - Not much to say here, as Rutgers continues to dominate. The least amount of points scored by a McKeown GW team is 40, which came at Oregon on December 4, 2004. The least amount of points scored by a McKeown team at the Smith Center is 43, which took place on December 7, 2005 against #1 Tennessee.

Update, 9.48 p.m. - GW is down to 11-55 (20%) from the field. This is shaping up to be a historically bad night for McKeown and company. Rutgers leads 24-12 in points in the paint.

Update, 9.54 p.m. - Allen with the lone GW highlight of the night on a sweet reverse lay-up. On her next move to the basket, Allen was fouled hard and is in considerable pain on the bench. From here, it looks as though it was a hand injury. We'll let you know more when we find out.

Update, 10.02 p.m. - Rutgers wins easily 67-42. It is the first loss at the Smith Center for the women since a 67-63 setback vs. Richmond on February 19, 2006, and the worst home loss since the aforementioned 31-point loss to #2 Tennessee in November 2001. The 42 points scored are also the least for a McKeown coached team at the Smith Center. Back later with postgame audio.

Update, 11.48 p.m. - Here is the postgame audio (my apologies for the weird advertisements, but the site I usually use is having some technical difficulties, so this is the best I could do):

-Vaughn, Ajavon, and Stringer here.
-Beck, Lawrence, and McKeown here.

Once the site I use gets its issues straightened away, I will post the audio like I normally do.

Anyhow, in my three plus years here, I have never seen McKeown like he was after the game. Just listen to the audio; powerful stuff. It's certainly not going to be a fun week of practice for the squad.

Nice words in Stringer's opening comment on the attendance issue.

Is Rutgers better than GW? Yes. Is Rutgers 25 points better than GW? No. The Colonials played miserably tonight and got kicked up and down the court for 40 minutes. The squad has almost a week to collect itself before the GW Thanksgiving Classic tips off next weekend. This loss certainly isn't the end of the world, but it's extremely disappointing because everyone knows GW could and should have performed better. It'll be interesting to see what type of impact this has on the Colonials' position in the polls.

We're off until Friday night, when the women face South Dakota State. We'll post any important stories that come up between now and then. Thanks for stopping by. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.