Game 47: Women at St. Bonaventure

The #14/13 women's team travels to Olean, NY to face St. Bonaventure (16-9, 4-6) this afternoon at the Reilly Center. GW (20-4, 8-1) is coming off of a 69-45 win at Massachusetts on Wednesday night. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (14 points, seven rebounds), Whitney Allen (13 points, 11 rebounds), Sarah-Jo Lawrence (12 points, four rebounds, five assists), and Jazmine Adair (11 points). Kimberly Beck did not play due to an illness, marking the first time in her four-year career that she missed a game.

The Bonnies, who were picked to finish 11th out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 16-15 and lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. St. Bonaventure is led by preseason Third Team All-A-10 selection 6-1 sophomore forward Dana Mitchell (19 points, 6.5 rebounds per game this season) and 5-8 junior guard Katelyn Murray (10.4 points). Coach Jim Crowley is 85-135 in his eighth season with the Bonnies; he is 124-176 in 11 seasons as a head coach. With 16 wins, St. Bonaventure has clinched back-to-back winning campaigns for the first time since the 1990-1991 and 1991-1992 seasons.

St. Bonaventure is coming off of a 69-66 win at Duquesne on Wednesday night, which snapped a three-game losing streak. In that one, three Bonnies reached double figures in scoring: Murray (17 points), Mitchell (13 points), and 5-11 sophomore guard/forward Andrea Doneth (12 points, six rebounds). St. Bonaventure shot 24-48 (50%) from the field, but turned the ball over 21 times in the victory. The Bonnies are 5-2 at the Reilly Center this season.

This is the 33rd-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 31-1. The last meeting came on February 11, 2007 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 75-41. In that one, four GW players reached double figures in scoring: Lawrence (15 points, five rebounds), Kenan Cole (15 points, four rebounds, four assists), Beck (11 points, four assists), and Jessica Adair (11 points, three assists). Murray had 10 points for the Bonnies, while Mitchell added 10 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. GW led 44-17 at the half and held St. Bonaventure to just 14-59 (23.7%) shooting from the field, including 3-17 (17.6%) from three-point land. The Colonials are 14-1 at the Bonnies and have won the last 26 meetings in the series. GW's lone loss to St. Bonaventure came on February 23, 1989 at the Reilly Center by a score of 68-56.

St. Bonaventure's resurgence has been impressive, but the Colonials are a team on a mission. The pick here is for another road win for coach Joe McKeown's squad.

David Earl and Ben Toder have the call for WRGW with Ross Romano and Eric Struening handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 4.10 p.m.

Game notes: This is the first game of a Colonials-Bonnies doubleheader...The two schools' men's teams will tip-off following the conclusion of this one...GW has won 22 of its last 23 regular season A-10 games...The Colonials have won at least 20 games in each of the last nine seasons and in 17 of the last 18 years...GW is 7-2 on the road and 8-3 away from the Smith Center this season...Beck is the only player in A-10 history with at least 1,200 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals, and 60 blocks...Beck currently leads the conference in assists...She is looking to become the 11th player in Division I women's basketball history to lead her conference in assists for four-straight seasons...Allen needs five blocks to enter the top five in program history...GW has been ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll for 33-straight weeks, a school record...GW remained at #14 in this week's Associated Press Poll, and at #13 in latest edition of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll...The Colonials have hit at least one three-pointer in each of the last 79 games...GW is 5-1 on Saturdays, 11-0 when scoring at least 70 points, and 11-0 when holding opponents under 60 points...The Colonials are 16-3 coming off of a win...In three career games against St. Bonaventure, Lawrence is averaging 13.3 points per game, while Beck is averaging 11 points...Jessica Adair is averaging nine points per game in two career meetings with the Bonnies...McKeown is 26-0 in his career against St. Bonaventure and 7-0 against Crowley...Crowley is 0-7 against McKeown and the Colonials...A win today would give St. Bonaventure 17 wins...It would be the most for the team since moving to Division I in the 1986-1987 season...Over the past two seasons, the Bonnies are 24-2 when leading at the half.

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

Update, 5.35 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

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)

St. Bonaventure
G - Katelyn Murray (5-8 junior from Harrisburg, PA)
G - Tiara Johnson (5-9 junior from Kansas City, MO)
G - Cara Gustafson (5-10 freshman from Omaha, NE)
F - Erica Schiefen (6-0 junior from Elmira Heights, NY)
F - Dana Mitchell (6-1 sophomore from Fairless Hills, PA)

GW down 20 at the half after being outrebounded 26-8 in the first 20 minutes. The Colonials have cut the deficit to 10 with 12.49 to go.

Update, 6.03 p.m. - GW has taken the lead by one with 4.30 to play. A remarkable turn of events at the Reilly Center, as the Colonials have done a tremendous job of stifling the Bonnies' offense here in the second half.

Update, 6.16 p.m. - St. Bonaventure rallies to win it 63-60. GW falls back into a three-way tie with Xavier and Temple at the top of the A-10 standings.

However, the loss is most damaging in terms of the team's seeding for the NCAA Tournament: the Bonnies' current rank of #98 in the RPI will not bode well with selection committee members.

We'll be back in about 45 minutes for the tip-off of the men's game. As always, thanks for stopping by.