Game 21: Women vs. Loyola Marymount

The #22 women's team hosts Loyola Marymount (7-4) this afternoon at the Smith Center. GW (7-3) is coming off of a 10-day break since winning at Villanova 67-52 on December 8. In that one, Jessica Adair had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Sarah-Jo Lawrence (13 points, six rebounds) and Jazmine Adair (10 points) also reached double figures in scoring. The win at Villanova was Whitney Allen's (five points, nine rebounds) first time back on the court since suffering a broken left ring finger in the Rutgers loss on November 18.

The Lions, who were picked to finish fourth out of eight teams in the West Coast Conference, return three starters from the team that went 19-12 and lost to Gonzaga in the championship game of the conference tournament. Loyola Marymount features a balanced scoring attack, as seven players are averaging five points per game or more. The Lions are led by 5-7 senior guard Amanda DeCoud (11.8 points, 4.7 assists, three steals per game this season), the 2007 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, 6-2 junior forward Jenna Sybesma (9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds), 5-8 freshman guard Renahy Young (9.2 points), 6-2 senior forward Valerie Ogoke (8.6 points, 7.9 rebounds), and 5-9 sophomore guard Jessica Vargas (eight points, 4.6 rebounds). Coach Julie Wilhoit is 174-181 in her 13th season at Loyola Marymount; she is 295-251 in 20 seasons as a head coach.

On Saturday, the Lions used 18 points, four rebounds, and four steals from DeCoud in a 66-54 home win over UC Irvine. Sybesma (12 points) and Ogoke (10 points, eight rebounds, six steals, four blocks) also reached double figures in scoring for LMU. Loyola Marymount comes into this one riding a three-game winning streak after losing back-to-back road games at California and Northern Arizona. On the season, the Lions are only shooting 28% from three-point land and 57.8% from the free throw line.

This is the second-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 0-1. The only meeting came in Los Angeles on December 28, 1988, which the Lions won 55-53 in overtime. In that one, Lynn Flanagan hit a shot with one second left to give LMU the victory. Tracey Earley led the Colonials with 17 points. The 1988-1989 season was the last before coach Joe McKeown arrived in Foggy Bottom.

With Allen and Antelia Parrish both back to full strength for McKeown's squad, expect the Colonials to come out on top.

Sammy Gelfand and Ross Romano have the call for WRGW with Max Smith and Scott Trocchia handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 2.40 p.m.

Game notes: Parrish has not played since spraining her left ankle against South Dakota State on November 23...Kimberly Beck is seven assists shy of passing Kathy Marshall for the top spot in program history...Beck's 574 career assists are 11th-most in the history of the Atlantic 10...Beck needs five assists to jump into the top 10 in A-10 history...Beck needs nine points to pass Leslie Bond for 18th place in program history...Beck needs three steals to pass Darlene Saar for sixth place in program history...Jessica and Jazmine Adair will be celebrating their 21st birthdays tomorrow...GW is 4-2 all-time against West Coast Conference teams...The idle Colonials dropped one spot to #22 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll...GW remains just outside the top 25 in the Associated Press Poll...The Colonials are 7-1 when they shoot better than 35% from the field, 6-1 when outrebounding their opponents, and 0-1 on Tuesdays...McKeown is 11 victories shy of 500 for his career.

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

Update, 8.27 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

Loyola Marymount
C - Valerie Ogoke (6-2 senior from Inglewood, CA)
F - Jenna Sybesma (6-2 junior from Corona, CA)
G - Lisa Helmers (5-9 sophomore from Tempe, AZ)
G - Cassady Moore (5-7 junior from Long Beach, CA)
G - Amanda DeCoud (5-7 senior from Moreno Valley, CA)

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)

Nice to see the Colonials back on track as they coasted to an easy 85-46 win. Adair led the way with 23 points and five rebounds, while Beck had 16 points and five assists, leaving her one behind Marshall's program record, and Lawrence had 14 points, four rebounds, and eight assists. Parrish had nine points and eight rebounds in her first appearance since late November.

It is the largest margin of victory for GW in nearly two years since an 88-37 domination of Yale back on December 20, 2005. The team was firing on all cylinders and has to feel good heading into Thursday's home game against #10/10 Texas A&M.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but the afternoon start was tough with finals. We'll be back on Thursday for the A&M showdown. Thanks for stopping by.