Game 36: Women vs. Charlotte

The #20/17 women's team hosts Atlantic 10 Conference-leader Charlotte (13-7, 4-0) this afternoon at the Smith Center. GW (15-4, 3-1) is coming off of a 50-32 home win over LaSalle on Wednesday night. In that one, Jessica Adair had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Antelia Parrish had 13 points and six rebounds. The Explorers' 32 points were the fewest the Colonials have allowed in A-10 play since defeating St. Bonaventure 81-32 on February 1, 1992.

The 49ers, who were picked to finish tied for second out of 14 teams in the A-10, return four starters from the squad that went 19-13 and lost to Virginia in the second round of the WNIT. Charlotte is led by two preseason Second Team All-A-10 selections in 6-5 junior forward/center Danielle Burgin (11.5 points, 8.7 rebounds per game this season) and 5-9 senior guard Sabrina Gregory (11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists), who was also selected to the Defensive Team. Head coach Karen Aston is 13-7 in her first season with the 49ers. Aston came to Charlotte after serving as an assistant at Baylor and Texas.

Charlotte is coming off of a 64-51 win at Dayton on Tuesday night. In that one, 5-5 junior guard Traci Ray (9.1 points, 3.8 assists) scored a career-high 21 points, while 6-0 sophomore forward Erin Floyd (8.2 points, 5.3 rebounds) had 10 points and nine rebounds. The 49ers used a 12-0 run to open the second half to get a big road win over the Flyers. After going 0-5 to open the season, Charlotte is 13-2 in its last 15 games, including a seven-game winning streak coming into this one. The 49ers are the only remaining unbeaten team in A-10 play. Charlotte is tops in the conference in rebounding and defensive three-point percentage.

This is the third-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 2-0. The last meeting came on February 15, 2007 in Charlotte, NC, which the Colonials won 64-59. In that one, #8/9 GW was led by Sarah-Jo Lawrence (16 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and the Adair sisters, Jessica (14 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks) and Jazmine (14 points, six rebounds). The Colonials' win snapped Charlotte's school-record 22-game home winning streak. The only previous meeting at the Smith Center was on February 26, 2006, which the Colonials won 69-65 to clinch a share of the A-10 title with the 49ers.

This is a huge game for GW, as a loss would knock the Colonials two games behind Charlotte in the A-10, plus the 49ers would hold the tiebreaker. The two prior games in the series have been closely contested, so expect a good one this afternoon. The pick here is for GW to win a close one.

David Earl and I have the call for WRGW with Max Smith and Max Feinblatt handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.40 p.m.

Game notes: GW has won eight-straight at home and is 9-1 at the Smith Center...The Colonials have won 10-straight home conference games dating back to a 67-63 loss to Richmond on February 19, 2006...The current senior class is 24-1 at the Smith Center in regular season conference games...The current senior class is 49-5 at the Smith Center...Through 10 home games, the average home attendance for the women has been 1,952...This would break the program record of 1,637 from the 1995-1996 season...Kimberly Beck needs two assists to pass Xavier's Reetta Piipari for ninth place in A-10 history...Whitney Allen needs four blocks to pass Mandisa Turner for 10th place in program history...Lawrence needs five points to pass Erica Lawrence for 16th place in program history...Coach Joe McKeown is three wins shy of 500 for his career...The Colonials are 3-1 on Saturdays and 7-0 when scoring at least 70 points...GW assistant Mike Bozeman coached Charlotte's Ashley Spriggs at Bishop McNamara high school in Maryland.

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

Update, 1.58 p.m. - Here are your starting lineups:

Charlotte
G - Traci Ray (5-5 junior from Cypress, TX)
G - Aysha Jones (5-8 sophomore from Pittsburgh, PA)
G - Sabrina Gregory (5-9 senior from Fayetteville, NC)
F - Erin Ford (6-0 sophomore from Sicklerville, NJ)
C - Danielle Burgin (6-5 junior from Asheville, NC)

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, 2.53 p.m. - A textbook first-half performance by a Colonials team that needed an upstart performance after a lackluster victory over the lowly Explorers and a loss at Temple a week prior. Kim Beck proved again why she is the leader of this team with 10 points, eight assists with zero turnovers. The other starters all have at least eight points shooting almost 60% from the field. The blizzard defense has turned this hot Charlotte team over 12 times in the first-half while holding them to 32% from the field. Expect more of the same to come from this Mckeown group playing the best they have played, maybe all season.

Update, 5.06 p.m. - Here's the postgame audio:

Aston

Beck and Lawrence

McKeown


A solid win for the Colonials in an important conference game. GW dominated from the tip and got double-doubles from Beck (19 points, 11 assists) and Lawrence (13 points, 10 rebounds). GW's win opens what is now a four-way tie at the top of the A-10 between the Colonials (16-4, 4-1), Charlotte (13-8, 4-1), Xavier (13-6, 3-1), and Temple (10-10, 3-1).

The women will be back in action on Tuesday at home against Dayton. As for GW basketball, the day is only half over, as the men tip-off at Duquesne in about two hours from now. As always, thanks for stopping by.