Game 60: Women vs. Auburn

The #20/16 women's team faces 11th-seeded Auburn (20-11) this morning in the first round of the NCAA Tournament from Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA. Sixth-seeded GW (25-6) is making its sixth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 15th overall, all of which have come under the direction of head coach Joe McKeown. Last season, the fifth-seeded Colonials knocked off 12th-seeded Boise State and fourth-seeded Texas A&M before falling to top-seeded North Carolina in the regional semifinals.

The Tigers, who were picked to finish fifth out of 12 teams in the Southeastern Conference, return five starters from the squad that went 21-13 and lost to Kansas State in the quarterfinals of the WNIT. Auburn has three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by First Team All-SEC selection 6-4 junior forward DeWanna Bonner (18.5 points, 10.2 rebounds per game this season). Bonner is joined by 5-11 junior guard Sherell Hobbs (13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds), and 5-8 freshman guard Alli Smalley (10.7 points), who was selected to the SEC All-Freshman team. Coach Nell Fortner is 71-52 in her fourth year at Auburn; she is 88-63 in five years as a head coach. This is the Tigers' 17th-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and their first since 2004. Auburn suffered back-to-back title game losses in 1988 and 1989.

Auburn spent 10 weeks ranked in the national polls, but dropped out for good in mid-January after a stretch during which the team lost five of six games, including a 68-66 home loss to GW on January 3. The Tigers come into today's game having lost four of their last six games, most recently a 49-44 loss to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. In that one, Bonner was the only Auburn player to reach double figures in scoring with 23 points and 13 rebounds. The Tigers were held to just 14-49 (28.6%) shooting from the field and missed all 13 three-point attempts.

This is the third-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 2-0. The last meeting came on January 3 in Auburn, AL, which the Colonials won 68-66 on a Lisa Steele three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining. In that one, three GW players reached double figures in scoring: Sarah-Jo Lawrence (18 points, four assists), Kimberly Beck (16 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals), and Jessica Adair (16 points, five rebounds, two blocks). Auburn also had three players reach double figures in scoring: Smalley (17 points, nine rebounds, five assists), Bonner (14 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks), and Hobbs (12 points). GW shot 26-53 (49.1%) from the field, including 7-15 (46.7%) from three-point land. However, the Tigers outrebounded the Colonials 41-31. The other meeting came at the Smith Center on December 16, 2006, which GW won 62-51.

The pick here was for the Colonials to make a run through the A-10 Tournament because of how much it meant to the senior class. That didn't happen. However, the NCAA Tournament is a different beast. Since arriving in California on Wednesday, the team has been focused. The pick here is for GW to advance to the round of 32.

Paul Marmaro and I have the call for WRGW with Chase Carpenter handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time. Dave Pasch, Deb Antonelli, and Heather Cox have the call for ESPN2. You can watch live starting at two p.m. Eastern Time.

Game notes: GW is 16-14 in the NCAA Tournament...The Colonials are 12-2 in the first round...GW is 1-1 as a six seed, having beaten Maine before falling to Virginia in 1996...McKeown is 16-16 in 16 NCAA Tournament appearances...McKeown's New Mexico State squads reached the tournament in 1987 and 1988...The current senior class is 4-3 in the NCAA Tournament...GW is 5-3 against teams that qualified for this season's tournament...The wins came against Virginia, Western Kentucky, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Xavier...The losses came to Rutgers, Temple, and Xavier...GW has won four-straight against the SEC...The Colonials are 10-16 all-time against the SEC...GW is 16-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, 14-0 when scoring at least 70 points, and 7-2 on Saturdays...Three Colonials are averaging double figures in scoring over their NCAA Tournament careers: Lawrence (12.7 points in seven games), Adair (11.8 points in five games), and Beck (11.4 points in seven games)...GW is 2-2 on neutral courts and 11-5 away from the Smith Center...Auburn is 15-1 all-time in the first round and 3-7 against teams who qualified for this year's NCAA Tournament...5-9 junior guard Whitney Boddie (10.6 points, 6.4 rebounds per game this season) is academically ineligible for the Tigers this semester.

More to follow from Maples Pavilion once we get closer to tip-off. Please check back later.

Update, 2.20 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

Auburn
G - Alli Smalley (5-8 freshman from Arab, FL)
G - Tamela McCorvey (5-9 senior from Pensacola, FL)
G - Sherell Hobbs (5-11 junior from Huntsville, AL)
F - Jordan Greenleaf (6-1 sophomore from Morrow, GA)
F - DeWanna Bonner (6-4 junior from Fairfield, AL)

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)

Four Colonials reached double figures in scoring in the 66-56 win: Adair (17 points, 13 rebounds), Parrish (15 points, seven rebounds, three steals), Allen (11 points, eight rebounds), and Lawrence (11 points, six rebounds, five assists).

Some other notes from the game:
-Beck's seven assists move her into a tie for the single-season GW record with 197. During the game, Beck also moved into second place in steals in program history with 293.
-GW is now 13-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
-Adair recorded her 12th career double-double, but just her second of the season. The other came against against South Dakota State on November 23.

The team will face either California or San Diego in the second round on Monday evening. That's all for now. Please continue to check the above posts for more updates. As always, thanks for stopping by.