Game 34: Women vs. LaSalle

The #20/17 women's team opens a three-game homestand tonight against LaSalle (9-9, 1-2). GW (14-4, 2-1) is coming off of its first regular season Atlantic 10 loss in 23 months, a 68-66 defeat at Temple on Saturday. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Sarah-Jo Lawrence (17 points, four assists), Kimberly Beck (15 points, four assists, three steals), Jessica Adair (13 points, nine rebounds), and Antelia Parrish (11 points). However, Temple outrebounded GW 35-24 and stopped the Colonials from scoring on two possessions in the closing seconds to pull off the upset.

The Explorers, who were picked to finish 10th out of 14 teams in the A-10, return three starters from the squad that went 19-11 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. LaSalle is led by preseason First Team All-A-10 selection 5-11 senior guard/forward Carlene Hightower (17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds per game this season) and 5-8 sophomore guard Jamie Walsh (11.1 points). Coach Tom Lochner is 51-53 in four seasons at LaSalle. The Explorers rank third in the A-10 in scoring defense and last in rebounding.

LaSalle is coming off of a 68-59 win at Fordham on Saturday. In that one, four Explorers reached double figures in scoring: Hightower (13 points, five rebounds), 6-0 sophomore forward Morgan Robertson (13 points, four rebounds), 6-0 senior forward Melanie Gibbons (12 points, six rebounds), and 5-6 junior guard Margaret Elderton (11 points, four rebounds). LaSalle forced 15 Fordham turnovers and shot 26-52 (50%) from the field. The Explorers went 8-7 against a non-conference schedule that featured eight teams currently ranked at 200 or worse in the RPI.

This is the 30th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 27-2. The last meeting came on January 28, 2007 in Philadelphia, PA, which the Colonials won 71-47. In that one, #11/12 GW got strong performances from Lawrence (20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals), Adair (18 points, 12 rebounds), and Beck (12 points, five assists) to coast to an easy victory. LaSalle was held to just 3-25 (12%) shooting in the first half. GW has won the last three meetings in the series and is 12-0 against the Explorers at the Smith Center with an average margin of victory of 18.7 points.

Look for an angry GW team to take out some of its frustration on the Explorers.

Ben Sugarman and Ross Romano have the call for WRGW with Phil Kaminski and Max Feinblatt handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m.

Game notes: GW has won seven-straight at home...Coach Joe McKeown is 113-36 following a loss in 18 seasons at GW...McKeown is 28-5 after a loss since the 2003-2004 season...Whitney Allen needs two steals to enter the top 15 in program history...Allen needs three blocks to enter the top 10 in program history...Beck needs six steals to pass Tracey Earley for fourth place in program history...McKeown is four wins shy of 500 for his career...LaSalle hasn't beaten a ranked team in 15 seasons...The last time it happened was on December 29, 1992 in a 92-88 win over #15 Nebraska.

More to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. I will be reporting live all night, so please check back later.

Update, 6.51 p.m. - No pre-game interview with McKeown because of tonight's concurrent men's game. Here are the starting lineups:

LaSalle
G - Margaret Elderton (5-6 junior from Havertown, PA)
G - Jamie Walsh (5-8 sophomore from Downingtown, PA)
G - Carlene Hightower (5-11 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Morgan Robertson (6-0 sophomore from Amarillo, TX)
F - Melanie Gibbons (6-0 senior from Bridgewater, NJ)

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, 7.11 p.m. - GW up 7-5 at the first media timeout. McKeown was not happy with his team's effort as the squad made its way back to the huddle. It seems as though the rotations on defense have been a little slow at the start. Lawrence misses two free throws. Not a great start by the Colonials.

Update, 7.15 p.m. - Lisa Steele in for Allen as the first substitution of the night by McKeown. On the opposite side, Lochner is sporting an unusual outfit: he's wearing a long-sleeved tan shirt (not a button-down) tucked into a pair of blue slacks. I must have missed the memo about it being business casual night at the Smith Center.

Update, 7.29 p.m. - Allen just took a shot to the face and has been removed from the game. She looked a little woosy as she walked off the court. More to follow when we know it. GW only up one with 6.30 to play in the half. The disappointing play of late has continued through the first 13 minutes of this one.

Update, 7.40 p.m. - Allen is back into the game and she looks fine.

Update, 7.42 p.m. - Another subpar half of A-10 basketball by GW, but they lead 22-20 at intermission. McKeown exchanged some headed words with one of the officials as he headed to the locker room; he is clearly displeased with his team's effort thus far. Lawrence leads the way with seven points, while LaSalle is only shooting 7-23 (30.4%) from the field.

Update, 7.58 p.m. - This is a crucial second half for the women. LaSalle is currently at #204 in the RPI, so a home loss to the Explorers would be crippling in terms of NCAA Tournament seeding.

Update, 8.03 p.m. - Eight-straight points by GW to open the second half. They're looking more like the team we all expected them to be this season. I wonder what McKeown had to say in the locker room during halftime.

Update, 8.14 p.m. - 14-2 GW this half at the second media timeout. The Colonials look a lot better on both ends of the court. After scoring six points in the first half, Adair has added eight more in the first eight minutes of the second half.

Update, 8.24 p.m. - Back-to-back threes by Parrish gives GW its largest lead of the game at 46-28. Parrish has 11 points on 4-8 shooting; this is the best her shot has looked since she went down with an injury during the GW Thanksgiving Classic.

Update, 8.34 p.m. - Not a great offensive night for the Colonials with 48 points on 21-57 (36.8%) shooting. However, GW has 57 field goal attempts to LaSalle's 39. That's a huge discrepancy.

Update, 8.37 p.m. - Nice to see Lora Mitchell get some time in the final minute. Stefani Munro has also checked into the game. A tale of two halves for the Colonials as they win 50-32. Postgame audio to follow later.

Update, 9.56 p.m. - Here is the postgame audio:

Adair, Beck, and Parrish

McKeown


The 32 points scored by LaSalle are the fewest GW has allowed in league play since defeating St. Bonaventure 81-32 on February 1, 1992. A tremendous second half by the Colonials. Hopefully it will carry over into the tough home games coming up against Charlotte (13-7, 4-0) and Dayton (16-4, 2-2).

Toward the end of the postgame press conference, McKeown says some very interesting things, specifically that he estimates the Adairs have combined to miss two seasons' worth of practice in their three years at GW. Fascinating stuff.

That's all for tonight. We'll be back on Saturday when the women host Charlotte. As always, thanks for stopping by.