Game 15: Women vs. Samford

The #16/14 women's team faces Samford (6-1) this afternoon in the Four Points by Sheraton Invitation in New Orleans, LA. GW (5-3) blew a 24-point halftime lead and lost to UNLV 62-61 yesterday. It marked the first time GW has lost back-to-back games in nearly three years. The Colonials shot 2-16 (12.5%) from three and turned the ball over 21 times in that one.

The Bulldogs, who were picked to finish second out of 11 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, return three starters from the team that went 18-13 and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Bulldogs have a balanced scoring attack that features 5-7 freshman guard Emily London (10.7 points per game this season), 5-8 sophomore guard Monica Maxwell (10 points), 6-0 senior forward Alex Munday (9.7 points), 5-8 senior guard Taryn Towns (9.3 points), and 6-2 freshman forward Savannah Hill (8.6 points, 4.6 rebounds). Coach Mike Morris is 75-74 in his sixth season at Samford.

The Bulldogs' lone loss of the season was an 86-36 beatdown at LSU in the opener. Samford has won six in a row, including victories over Alabama and Missouri. Yesterday, Samford beat host New Orleans in the Four Points by Sheraton Invitational 49-40, using a 13-0 run to close the game to pull away for the win. After shooting only 18.5% in the first half, the Bulldogs outscored New Orleans 36-15 after intermission. In that one, Maxwell led the way with 10 points and seven rebounds.

This is the first-ever meeting between these programs.

The Colonials have been playing poorly of late. Is this the one when they finally get back on track? It should be a close one, but I'm reluctantly picking GW.

Steven Smith and David Earl have the call for WRGW with Adam Rosenbloom handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.40 p.m.

Game notes: GW hasn't lost three games in a row since dropping four straight from December 12, 2002 to January 2, 2003...Those losses were a 63-57 defeat to George Mason on December 20, a 64-46 loss at DePaul on December 22, an 87-72 defeat at Rutgers on December 29, and a 70-65 loss at Georgetown on January 2...Kimberly Beck is 20 assists shy of passing Kathy Marshall for the top spot in program history...Coach Joe McKeown is 13 wins of 500 for his career.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the WRGW studios and the Human Performance Center once we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 11.30 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

Samford
G - Megan Wilderotter (5-5 junior from New Orleans, LA)
G - Taryn Towns (5-8 senior from Memphis, TN)
G - Monica Maxwell (5-8 sophomore from Harvest, AL)
F - Chika Okoli (5-9 junior from Snellville, GA)
F - Alex Munday (6-0 senior from Knoxville, TN)

GW
G - Stefani Munro (5-7 sophomore from Mount Clemens, MI)
G - Kimberly Beck (5-8 senior from Fairburn, GA)
G - Sarah-Jo Lawrence (5-11 senior from Rhoadesville, VA)
F - Jazmine Adair (6-3 junior from Washington, DC)
C - Jessica Adair (6-4 junior from Washington, DC)

The Colonials held on after Samford cut it to three with just over a minute left. You have to hope Allen and Parrish, both of whom didn't play, return soon because this squad hasn't played well at all without them. The win snaps GW's two-game losing streak, the first in almost three years.

We'll be back tomorrow as the men face Auburn in the BB&T Classic. As always, thanks for stopping by.