Game 59: Women vs. Xavier

The #13/12 women's team faces third-seeded Xavier (22-8, 12-3) in the semifinals of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Tournament this evening at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, PA. Second-seeded GW (25-5, 13-2) is coming off of a 70-43 win over 10th-seeded Rhode Island yesterday evening. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (12 points), Kimberly Beck (11 points, six assists, five steals), Sarah-Jo Lawrence (10 points, four rebounds), and Whitney Allen (10 points, six rebounds).

The Musketeers, who were picked to finish tied for second out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return one starter from the squad that went 26-8 and lost to West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That one starter is 6-5 sophomore forward Amber Harris (15.5 points, nine rebounds per game this season), a preseason Wooden Award nominee and First Team All-A-10 selection . Xavier has two other players averaging double figures in scoring: 6-6 freshman center Ta'Shia Phillips (14.1 points, 11.1 rebounds) and 5-7 junior guard Jerri Taylor (10.8 points). Coach Kevin McGuff is 128-58 in six seasons with the Musketeers.

Xavier is coming off of a 74-52 over sixth-seeded St. Joseph's last night. In that one, four Musketeers reached double figures in scoring: Harris (13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocks), Phillips (12 points, five rebounds), Taylor (11 points, five assists), and 5-6 freshman guard Special Jennings (10 points, three assists). Xavier outscored St. Joseph's 34-22 in the first half and limited the Hawks to just 6-29 (20.7%) shooting from the field during that time. The Musketeers have won two-straight and five of their last six games.

This is the 29th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 17-11. The last contest came at the Smith Center on January 13, 2008, which the #17/17 Colonials won 56-46. In that one, two GW players reached double figures in scoring: Adair (15 points, six rebounds, four steals) and Beck (12 points, five rebounds). For Xavier, Harris was the only player to reach double figures in scoring with 18 points and eight rebounds. GW has won four of the last five contests against Xavier, including two-straight, marking the first time either program has won back-to-back games in the series since the 1997-1998 season. Three of the last 15 meetings have gone to overtime.

This should be a good one. The Colonials are a team on a mission. The pick here is for another trip to the A-10 title game for coach Joe McKeown and company.

Adam Rosenbloom and David Earl have the call for WRGW with Alex Tainsh and Ben Toder handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 2.10 p.m.

Game notes: GW has won four A-10 Tournament titles...The last was in 2003...The current senior class is 6-3 in the A-10 Tournament, having lost in the finals twice (in 2005 and 2006 to Temple) and the semifinals once (in 2007 to St. Joseph's)...This is the 26th-ever appearance in the A-10 Tournament for the Colonials...They are one of only four programs to appear in each event...The other three are Massachusetts, St. Joseph's, and Temple...GW is 32-21 all-time in the A-10 Tournament...The Colonials are 2-1 in the first round, 16-9 in the quarterfinals, 10-5 in the semifinals, and 4-6 in the finals...GW has reached the semifinals in 16 of the last 17 years...The Colonials are 7-4 in the A-10 Tournament as the #2 seed...GW has matched the program record for most victories over a two-year stretch...The Colonials went 54-13 from 1995 to 1997...GW is currently 54-9 over the last two seasons...Adair needs five points to become the 25th player in program history with 1,000 career points...Beck and Sarah-Jo Lawrence both reached that plateau earlier this season...Lawrence needs two points to pass Anna Montanana for 13th place in program history...Beck needs four steals to pass Debbie Hemery for second place in program history...The Colonials are 5-1 on Sundays, 16-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, and 14-0 when scoring at least 70 points...GW is 20-4 coming off of a win.

I will be live-blogging all afternoon, so please check back later.

Update, 2.34 p.m. - Here are your starting lineups:

Xavier
G - Special Jennings (5-6 freshman from Cleveland, OH)
G - Jerri Taylor (5-7 junior from South Bend, IN)
F - Maureen Hester (6-1 sophomore from Bethel Park, PA)
F - Amber Harris (6-5 sophomore from Indianapolis, IN)
C - Ta'Shia Phillips (6-6 freshman from Indianapolis, IN)

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)

The Temple coaching staff is seated behind me. The Owls face the winner of this semifinal in tomorrow's championship game.

Update, 2.42 p.m. - Talked to McKeown before the game. He said Lawrence should not be bothered by the shoulder injury she suffered yesterday against Rhode Island. 10-7 GW at the first media timeout with eight points coming from Parrish. The junior has really found her shot over the last month.

Update, 2.46 p.m. - The coaching staff has gotten on Parrish's case a few times this season for not boxing out. We've already seen a couple examples of that already, leading to an offensive rebound for the Musketeers and then a GW turnover. Early on, it seems as though Jennings doesn't want to shoot the ball, as she's passed up a couple of open looks.

Update, 2.48 p.m. - Allen is feeling it this afternoon. After pulling down a one-armed rebound with a Xavier player all over her, the senior then hit a three-pointer off the inbounds pass. Allen smiled and nodded the whole way back down the court.

Update, 3.04 p.m. - 24-21 GW lead with six minutes to play in the first half. It's been a contrast of styles, as the Colonials have been hot from beyond the arc, and Xavier is getting it done on the inside with Harris and Phillips.

Update, 3.08 p.m. - The Colonials are doing a great job of communicating on defense. It's amazing how well the Temple coaching staff knows this GW team; they are charting what plays the Colonials call on both ends of the floor and discussing what will happen before a single Colonial moves.

Update, 3.19 p.m. - The Colonials lead 30-24 at intermission. Solid contributions off the bench by Lisa Steele on both ends of the court. GW is really frustrating Xavier on the offensive end, as the Musketeers shot just 9-22 (40.9%) from the field in the first half and turned the ball over 11 times.

Update, 3.35 p.m. - Jennings is really hesitant to shoot the ball. She passed up a wide-open look from the top of the key, got the ball back, and then paused a second before launching a shot off the back of the rim. Third foul for Adair just 110 seconds into the second half. Four seconds later, Adair picks up her fourth. In comes Jazmine. In our conversation before the game, McKeown spoke about how well Jazmine played in the meeting between these teams earlier this season. She's going to have to have to play well against Phillips in this half if the Colonials want to advance to the A-10 Tournament title game for the third time in the last four years.

Update, 3.39 p.m. - Jazmine picks up her fourth personal on a mysterious offensive foul call. Now it's Jamila Bates' turn to battle with Phillips down low. Dangerous territory for the Colonials as they haven't been in this position all season.

Update, 3.42 p.m. - With no inside game to match Phillips and Harris, the Colonials have tried to push the tempo over the past few minutes. Beck has connected with a streaking Lawrence on a pair of nice passes, leading to easy lay-ins. It's 36-28 Colonials with 15.17 to play.

Update, 3.46 p.m. - Five-straight points from the Musketeers have cut the GW lead to three. On the last possession, Phillips went right around Bates in the paint for an easy bucket. With 13.23 still to play, you have to wonder how much longer McKeown can go without bringing one of the Adairs back in.

Update, 3.51 p.m. - Harris and Phillips have single-handedly given Xavier a three-point lead. Jazmine is back in the game as Bates was unable to anchor the post for the Colonials. The Musketeers have the momentum.

Update, 3.54 p.m. - The Colonials have gone cold from the field with only two points in the last four minutes. Phillips connects on a pair of free throws and the Musketeers lead is up to five points with 10.10 to play. Someone needs to step up for the GW.

Update, 3.58 p.m. - Nothing is coming easy for GW on the offensive end as the Musketeers are playing tenacious perimeter defense. In other news, this has been possibly the worst officiated game I've seen all season. Before Harris fouled Jessica Adair on a shot attempt (even though it looked like a clean block), the sophomore had just one personal foul.

Update, 4.02 p.m. - Jess hits a pair of free throws and is now going back to the line to shoot two more. This Colonials team is much different when she's in the game, as the Musketeers have to respect her presence in the paint.

Update, 4.04 p.m. - Big three by Steele cuts the deficit to one and forces McGuff to burn a timeout. Steele gave a fist pump as she connected on a deep trey from the far wing. The Colonials have switched to a three-quarter court pressure defense, which has helped keep Harris and Phillips out of the paint.

Update, 4.07 p.m. - After hitting the front end of a one-and-one, Jess started running back down the court. Beck stopped her with a smile and told her she had another attempt. You've got to love the on-court demeanor of the senior. Adair connects on the second, and the Colonials lead by one with five minutes to play.

Update, 4.09 p.m. - Smart play by Allen to call a timeout before falling out of bounds. When we resume play, it'll be GW ball with a one-point lead and 3.56 to play. Important to note that both squads have seven team fouls, so we'll be going to free throws the rest of the way.

Update, 4.12 p.m. - Four-straight by Xavier out of the timeout. 2.30 to play, and it's 52-49 Musketeers. Parrish answers with a clutch three-pointer. She had big back-to-back treys the last time GW played on this court a couple weeks ago against St. Joseph's.

Update, 4.15 p.m. - Harris puts back an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. Jess answers with a jumper from the free throw line. Tied game, Xavier ball with 1.15 to play. A pulse-pounding finish here at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.

Update, 4.16 p.m. - Terrible blocking foul call on Beck. She had set her feet at least a second before contact was made. The Musketeers are going to the line to try to make it a three-point game with 1.05 to go. Worth noting that coming into this one, the Musketeers were only shooting 61.2% from the free throw line as a team.

Update, 4.18 p.m. - After X converts on the and-one, Parrish answers with a baseline jumper. McKeown calls a timeout, so it's a 57-56 Musketeers lead with .52 to go.

Update, 4.20 p.m. - Jennings' prayer with the shot clock running down was answered. Beck just missed a three-pointer at the other end, so it's Xavier ball with .13 left. If the Musketeers hit their free throws down the stretch, then it'll be Temple-Xavier here tomorrow night for the A-10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Update, 4.23 p.m. - Phillips gets an offensive rebound and is fouled. She hits one of two. Beck counters with a three-pointer. It's a two-point Musketeers lead with 4.7 seconds left. GW needs either a steal on the inbounds or X to miss at least one of two charity shots.

Update, 4.26 p.m. - Xavier wins it 63-59 as Hester connects on both free throws to finish off the second-seeded Colonials. For the second-straight year, GW's A-10 Tournament run comes to an end in the semifinals. A disappointing loss as a seven-seed in the NCAA Tournament is not out of the realm of possibility. If anything, we learned today that there will probably be three A-10 teams in the Big Dance.

As McKeown walks off the court, he tosses his water bottle into the air in frustration. The Colonials didn't catch many breaks today; the six-minute long stretch without either Adair sister really did GW in. It'll be a long ride back to Washington, D.C.

I'll try to see what I can do for postgame. Check back in a little while.