WRGW Sports

Hawaii Basketball Tournaments...No Rainbow Classic mention?

2008-10-14T23:12:00.003-04:00

Saw this article run through the AP Wire and found it amusing and quite telling in terms of how the Outriggers Hotel Rainbow Classic is viewed among those in the College Basketball World.

Feel free to post your reaction below, but I personally find it telling about how unimportant this tournament is, in relation with most of these 8-10-12 team non-conference tournaments throughout the country in November and December.

Kim Beck Resigns with Seattle Storm

2008-09-12T10:42:00.001-04:00

Thank to WRGW's own Mallory Thompson for this great news. Kim Beck has been re-signed by the Storm for the remainder of the season according to Jayda Evans on her Seattle Times Storm Blog.

Beck has been seen on campus the past few days along with Sarah-Jo Lawrence but should be on her way to Seattle for the rest of the WNBA season.

Seattle is 21-11 and is second place in the Western Conference standings and has just two games remaining in the regular season. We will keep you updated on the story.

Scheduling Update with dates

2008-08-25T02:22:00.003-04:00

Here is an updated look at the Men's 2008-09 Non-Conference Basketball schedule to the best of my knowledge right now:

Nov. 14 - @ Boston University
Nov. 26 - UMBC
Dec. 7 - BB&T Classic (Maryland)
Dec. 17 - American
Dec. 27-30 - Rainbow Classic (Colorado, Colorado St, Pepperdine, Vermont, Coppin St, Vermont and tentatively Buffalo after Clemson pulled out of this tournament earlier this month)
Jan 3- @ Longwood

Not scheduled yet are home games vs. Harvard and what must be the backleg of a home and home with Binghamton who are expected to come to the Smith Center this year. While GW has a couple of good neutral court games, I still believe the Colonials should be looking to play 1-2 more challenging games on the road this season. More to come on the 2008-09 schedule.

Dwayne Smith not coming to Foggy Bottom this year

2008-08-15T11:37:00.002-04:00

With the Atlantic-10 Basketball Prospectus out, it seems Dwayne Smith is out as well. Under the incoming players on the GW Page (pg. 16) it lists Matt Albritton, Aaron Ware, Tony Taylor and Jeff Alston as the four newcomers for Karl Hobbs program.

Furthermore an article published by the Pioneer Press mentioned that Smith "was ruled ineligible to play for George Washington, because he took two core classes during the extra year."

These clearinghouse rules are predicated on stories that were published by both the Washington Post and New York Times in 2006 about prep schools that were considered "diploma mills," by the NCAA.

Smith, supposedly needed two core classes in his 5th year of high-school to graduate which would violate the 2007 NCAA rule that states that an incoming freshman can only take one core class in his 5th year of high-school to be eligible to play Divison I basketball the following season.

This is a big blow to the incoming class of 2009 who now only have three incoming freshman receiving scholarships. Without Smith the Colonials have an extra scholarship to give for this season and it remains to be seen if the 5-9 Alston or 5-8 junior point guard Johnny Lee will be the 13th scholarship player for the Colonials this season.

GW Recruiting

2008-08-14T18:43:00.002-04:00

One of the players that was thought to have GW on his radar apparently is no longer considering Foggy Bottom as a potential landing spot in 2009. Brewster Academy's Givon Crump was recently interviewed by Beaverblitz.com and listed nine schools he is interested in, but not one of them was the Colonials.

Crump, who is trimming his list, says he is looking at Michigan, Oregon St., Rutgers, Wake Forest and Maryland among others. GW was recruiting Crump early during his junior season, but the Colonials can longer be considered a landing spot for Crump.

Kenyon named new strength and conditioning coach

2008-08-13T15:43:00.003-04:00

Former Adelphi University basketball player and Florida Gators Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach Benjamin Kenyon has been named the replacement to GW's former strength and conditioning coach Mark Bearden.

Here is the release below:

WASHINGTON, DC — Benjamin Kenyon has been named head coach for strength and conditioning for the George Washington University's varsity athletics programs, Director of Athletics Jack Kvancz has announced. He replaces former strength coach Mark Bearden who resigned to pursue other opportunities. Kenyon served as a graduate assistant for strength and conditioning under Bearden at GW from Sept. 2006 to June 2007. While at GW, he worked with men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, men’s golf, baseball and softball.

“We're very excited to welcome Ben back to GW,” GW men's basketball coach Karl Hobbs said. "His experience and basketball background will give our players a new sense of confidence.”

Kenyon returns to GW after serving as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Florida for the past year in Gainesville, FL. A 2006 graduate and four-year basketball letterwinner at Adelphi University, Kenyon worked with the Gators’ men’s and women’s basketball, golf and tennis teams.

Prior to that, he was a strength and conditioning intern at Rutgers during the summer of 2007.

- GW -

Atlantic-10 and GW News and Notes

2008-08-08T00:45:00.002-04:00

It has been awhile since we last updated the goings on of both GW and A-10 basketball. Here are a couple of newsworthy items being reported today:

1. Thomas Robinson has narrowed his list of schools down to Five: Unfortunately GW, the first team that recruited him, is not on the list. The five schools are Memphis, USC, Kansas, Texas and Miami. It is not a surprise to see one of the breakout recruits of the summer aim for some of the most elite programs in the country including both the national champions and the national runner-ups, but I am sure most Colonial fans would have liked to have seen Robinson, a D.C. native, show a bit of loyalty to coach Hobbs who first recruited him during this season and was the first coach to offer him a scholarship.

2. Fordham picks up another recruit to impressive 2009 draft class: Brian Freeman, a Potomac, VA native committed tonight to Fordham University. The 6-8 220 LB forward was also being recruited by St. Joe's, Villanova, George Mason and Akron. Fordham's class now features Freeman along with Lance Brown of Paterson Catholic and Chris Gaston of St. Anthony's in what should be a very talented roster for Derek Whittenburg and the Rose Hill Rams in 2009.

3. Megan Kahn named Asst. A-10 commissioner: Kahn, along with Bernadette Mcglade have been asked early and often about how they plan to market the Atlantic-10 and allow fans of the conference to view more games on TV. Frankly, I have not been blown away with the responses and McGlade and now Kahn will need to make the overall viewership of the A-10 a main priority or else neither one will last very long as commissioner.

A-10 Recruiting Haul

2008-07-15T02:08:00.001-04:00

Yes, yes I realize this is a shameless plug, but I have begun writing for collegechalktalk.com and my first article has been published on the site. Here is the link to the article which focuses on the improvement of A-10 recruits this year:

Click Here

Xavier Basketball 2008-09

2008-07-11T01:24:00.002-04:00

When you lose Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan, it is only natural to assume that your roster is going to be less talented the year afterwards, but in the case of Xavier, the recent addition of Jordan Crawford might be the final move that ultimately makes them a better team this season. Consider that Crawford who averaged almost 10ppg with the Hoosiers will be joining Kenny Frease, Terrell Holloway, Mark Lyons, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh. All five of these incoming freshmen are three star recruits or better and when you add in Tulsa transfer Jamal McLean and Hillsdale transfer Andrew Taylor, the realization becomes clear: Xavier has an abundance of incoming talent to play with the likes of B.J. Raymond, C.J. Anderson, Derrick Brown, Jason Love and Dante Jackson.

GW Conference schedule announced

2008-07-09T14:07:00.002-04:00

Here it is the 2008-09 GW conference schedule:

HOME GAMES: Charlotte, Dayton, Fordham, La Salle, Rhode Island, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Temple

AWAY GAMES: Charlotte, Duquesne, La Salle, Massachusetts, Richmond, Saint Joseph's, Saint Louis, Xavier

Charlotte, Richmond and LaSalle are the three teams the Colonials play home and home's against and the schedule lends itself to some winnable home games with Fordham, LaSalle, St. Bonaventure and Richmond all coming to the Smith Center.

The Colonials also get Dayton, URI and Temple at home avoiding the UD arena, the Ryan Center and the Liacouras Center. GW will be on the road against Xavier, UMass and St. Joe's who are playing this season in the Palestra while construction is done on Alumni Hall.

RECRUITING UPDATE: Devonte Elliott (CLASS OF 2009)

2008-07-08T17:43:00.003-04:00

Acoording to West-Coast recruiting analyst Greg Hicks of Scout.com, George Washington has made an offer to Devonte Elliott a 6-9 210 lb forward from Paramount High-School in California. Hicks wrote this about Elliott:

Devonte Elliott, 6-8 PF Paramount (Calif.) High: Elliott had a very good showing the first day, playing as aggressively as we’ve seen him. His shot is getting pretty good out to 16-17 feet and he’s got a significant upside with his length and athleticism. Look for high majors to jump on him this month.

Elliott is another guy that projects very well. He knocked down a three yesterday. If he can start doing that consistently, to go with his considerable athleticism (he’s dunking everything in this camp), he’ll be hearing from numerous high majors.

Devonte Elliott said he’s been hearing from Washington, UC Irvine, Pacific, UC Santa Barbara and George Washington. He said George Washington has offered.

If this holds true, than the 2-star athletic forward could be a fantastic get for Karl Hobbs' 2009 recruiting class. He would also be the second player in as many years to come from the west coast with Aaron Ware of this year's class coming from Bishop Montgomery High School in California.

A-10 Conference Schedule Links

2008-07-04T15:30:00.004-04:00

Posted below are the links to 5 Atlantic-10 school's schedules:

Xavier

URI

UMass

Duquense

Charlotte

Charlotte is reporting a home-home with GW this season meaning the Colonials will be on the road to face Xavier, UMass, Duqeusne and now Charlotte next year.

It is also worth noting that Dayton, St. Joe's and Richmond all played at the Smith Center last season. Whether or not GW plays all three on the road this year remains to be seen, but it would be a good bet that the Colonials will play at least two of these programs on the road while getting teams like Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure and Fordham at home this season.

Lot of GW Basketball Catching Up to do

2008-07-03T12:32:00.004-04:00

With the summer having arrived, the WRGW Sports blog has come under new management. With the graduation of our beloved Frank Dale, Greg Shapiro, Ben Toder and myself Julian Gompertz make up the triumverate dedicated to bringing you GW sports coverage year-round. With that being said a few house-cleaning items to take care of.

Mckeown resigns, accepts position at Northwestern - This was a move that shocked many in the GW community. It probably shouldn't have. In 19 seasons, Joe Mckeown became the face of both Atlantic-10 women's basketball as well as GW women's basketball taking a program mired in mediocrity and leaving it as a perennial top 25 women's team. He had done everything he possibly could to take a mid-major and turn it into a dominant program and there was very little left for Mckeown to accomplish.

You can argue whether or not Joe should have stayed to reach the final four with GW but the opportunity to coach in a BCS league will give his ability and talent more exposure and a chance to do for Northwestern, what he has done for GW.

Mckeown, as most know, was deeply involved in the GW community. Most notable was his involvement with Autism Awareness as Mckeown attended fundraisers and rallies to support the cause. Mckeown also wore the Autism lapel on his jacket to every game as a show of support for his son Joey who is an autistic child. As a family man, Mckeown was always concerned that the "coaching" lifestyle took away from his family time and never forgot to give a shout out to any number of his family members during a WRGW postgame interview.

I personally will miss Joe Mckeown because of the way he treated the media. I will cherish the moment he told me to stay with him after a press-conference this year and gave me a 30-minute interview while enlightening me on some of the great people and stories he had come across during his coaching career. I also will remember my conversation with him on the Smith Center floor literally minutes before his team departed to Greensboro. He stayed with me and answered any final question I had to put up a preview before his team left, and his dedication towards making everyone around him feel welcomed is a character trait I will sorely miss.

Basketball coaches, by nature, can often times take out frustration and tireless work on the media after games, yet Mckeown always acted with grace and sincere kindness regardless of his team's play.

Everyone who ever knew Joe Mckeown will miss him dearly here in the nation's capital.

Bozeman hired as Mckeown's Successor - This was the most logical decision the athletic department could have made. In addition to being as qualified as the other two candidates, Bozeman has a good rapport with the current roster and is a recruiting boon in the D.C. area. By staying in-house, all incoming recruits have stayed on-board at GW and the University is in good hands "recruiting wise," in the D.C./MD/VA area for years to come.

Bozeman has a winning pedigree as a basketball coach and I expect there to be very little drop-off with him as the coach of this roster.

Now that we have got those two items out of the way, I wanted to post the tentative games we have so far for the men's team on the schedule this year. With conference schedules trickling out bit-by-bit, this is what we know so far:

Definite GW home-games:

URI

UMBC (ooc)

Binghamton (ooc)

Harvard (ooc) - The arrival of Cem Dinc to the Smith Center

American (ooc) - The second-tier inter-city rivalry

Very Questionable question marks:

Providence? (ooc) - Probably will not happen this year

Virginia Tech? (ooc)

Alabama? (ooc) - Probably a long-shot

Pathetic question marks:

Longwood/UMES? (ooc) - Can be sure at least one, if not both, are on the 2008-09 schedule

Definite GW Road games:

Xavier

Duquesne

UMass

Definite GW Neutral site games:

Rainbow Classic (Clemson, Colorado, Coppin St., Colorado St., Pepperdine, Vermont)

Maryland (BB&T)

A couple other quick notes:

Bozeman names three on staff - GW names Kristeena Alexander, Katie Rokus and Richard Moore assistant coaches for GW women's team.

Kenner League update - The Kenner league begins in the next week and the schedule is out. Here it is

I will keep the blog updated, but enjoy the summer and get ready for another exciting season

Home is where the start is

2008-04-17T16:55:00.003-04:00

The Washington Post is reporting that Sarah-Jo Lawrence has been added to the Washington Mystics' training camp roster.

News explosion!

2008-04-09T18:35:00.003-04:00

It has been a busy day in the world of GW basketball:
-Kimberly Beck was selected by the Seattle Storm in the third round of the 2008 WNBA Draft.
-The women's team is ranked #14 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll of the season.
-The men's team will take part in the 2008 Rainbow Classic in Hawaii from December 27 to 30. The field will also include Clemson, Colorado, Colorado State, Coppin State, Hawaii, Pepperdine, and Vermont.

Blast from the past

2008-04-02T13:05:00.002-04:00

Looks like Montrell McDonald might end up at Kansas State. Thanks to Julian Gompertz for the heads up.

Going to Tampa in a different way

2008-04-02T12:39:00.002-04:00

Kimberly Beck and Sarah-Jo Lawrence have been invited to the WNBA's Pre-Draft Camp, which will be held this weekend in Tampa, FL. The league's draft will be held on April 9. You can read the press release here.

Beck named AP All-American Honorable Mention

2008-04-01T16:55:00.004-04:00

Kimberly Beck has been named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press for the second-straight year. Beck is just the fourth player in program history to be selected as a two-time All-American. Here is the rest of the release, courtesy of team Sports Information Director Jesse Hooker:

"George Washington senior guard Kimberly Beck (Fairburn, GA/Woodward Academy) was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press for the second consecutive season Tuesday. She joins former Colonials’ standouts Darlene Saar (’95), Tajama Abraham (’97) and Noelia Gomez (’99) as a two-time All-America selection.

Beck, the 2008 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, averaged career-highs of 12.5 points and 6.2 assists during the 2007-08 season to help GW post a 27-7 record and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. The Colonials fell to No. 7 Rutgers, 53-42, in the Greensboro regional semifinal Sunday night in their fourth-ever appearance in the Sweet 16.

One of 40 finalists for the 2008 WBCA State Farm Coaches’ All-America Team, Beck became just the second player in league history and 11^th player in NCAA Division I history to lead her conference in assists four consecutive seasons with her school-record 205 assists in 2007-08.

Along with being named A-10 Player of the Year, Beck also was chosen a first team All-Conference performer and All-Defensive Team selection for the third year-in-a-row and is one of nine final nominees for the 2008 Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the nation’s top point guard. In 2007, Beck also was an AP honorable mention All-American and one of three finalists for the Lieberman Award.

Beck finished her four-year career as GW’s all-time leader with 717 assists and ranks 12th in scoring with 1,395 points. She also ranks second all-time at GW in steals (295), third in three-pointers (229), fourth in games played (129) and fifth in free throw percentage (.804). She is the only player in Division I women’s basketball history with at least 1,300 points, 700 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals and 60 blocks in her career.<

Beck, along with classmates Whitney Allen, Sarah-Jo Lawrence and Lora Mitchell, guided the Colonials to 101 victories, four A-10 regular-season titles and four NCAA Tournaments and a pair of Sweet 16 appearances during their careers."

Interview with Karl Hobbs

2008-03-31T18:21:00.002-04:00

Here is the audio of the interview we conducted with GW men's basketball coach Karl Hobbs during halftime of yesterday's women's game vs. Rutgers. Hope you enjoy.

On the road with the Colonials: Day 10

2008-03-30T12:34:00.008-04:00

At the end of today, GW will either be headed to the program's second-ever regional final appearance or on a bus back to the nation's capital. The day started with an 8.15 a.m. bus departure time for shoot-around, followed by breakfast. On another note, it's good to see GW men's coach Karl Hobbs here to support McKeown and company.

We are leaving for Greensboro Coliseum in 10 minutes, so please check back in a little while.

Update, 1.25 p.m. - The team received a send-off from the dance team and the Colonial Brass as it left the hotel (pictured to the left). Many more family members, students, and administrators have made the trip to Greensboro as opposed to the relatively small GW contingent that followed the squad around last week.

The team bus was accompanied by a police escort to Greensboro Coliseum (shown to the left - sorry for the glare in the picture, but the bus was packed and it was tough to maneuver around). As has been the case for each of the previous two NCAA Tournament games, the ride over was quiet, as everyone seemed dialed in on the task at hand.

It's almost time to get down to business. Check back for more after the broadcast, which you can hear here starting at two p.m.

Update, 6.02 p.m. - Well, it's all over. GW's season comes to a close here in Greensboro following a 53-42 loss to Rutgers. The Colonials battled for 40 minutes, cutting the deficit to four with just under four minutes left after trailing by 12 at intermission. However, Essence Carson scored the final nine points for the Scarlet Knights, ending the careers of Sarah-Jo Lawrence, Kimberly Beck, Whitney Allen, and Lora Mitchell.

It was a very emotional postgame scene. Lawrence and Beck were visibly upset during the press conference, while McKeown choked back tears at times. McKeown spoke of how proud he was of his seniors. It's hard to imagine what the program is going to be like without those players.

The mood was mixed on the bus ride back to the hotel. It's going to be a long trip back to Washington, D.C. The caravan should make it back to campus right around midnight. I'll be back with more tomorrow. Thanks to anyone and everyone who followed us on the road with the Colonials over the last couple of weeks. Also, special thanks to everyone around the program who made what we've done possible. It has truly been a pleasure, one that I will never forget.

Update, 12.23 a.m. - It was a surprisingly upbeat ride back to the nation's capital, as everyone enjoyed Enchanted and The Gameplan. However, there was also a sense of finality, as despite the fact that there is a team banquet in a few weeks, there is a good chance that the group that took the bus back from Greensboro may never all be together again. After spending five plus months together as a family, there was a strange feeling as everyone got off the bus back on campus.

I rode with the team back from Norfolk two years ago after the NCAA Tournament loss to Tennessee, and there was a sense of optimism when that ride ended at Guthridge Hall. However, it was truly the end of an era as the bus made its final stop a few minutes ago.

I'd like to once again thank everyone who checked out our posts from the road. Special thanks to everyone with the women's team for giving us such unprecedented access with the squad; we hope we didn't cause too much of a hassle. Again, it was a truly amazing experience.

Game 62: Women vs. Rutgers

2008-03-30T12:04:00.007-04:00

The #20/16 women's team faces second-seeded #7/7 Rutgers (26-6) this afternoon in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament from Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC. Sixth-seeded GW (27-6) is coming off of a 55-53 win over third-seeded #10/8 California on Monday night in Palo Alto, CA. Sarah-Jo Lawrence's putback of a Kimberly Beck air-ball as the buzzer sounded lifted the Colonials to the dramatic victory and sent the program to the Sweet 16 in back-to-back years for the first time in school history. In that one, three GW players reached double figures in scoring: Antelia Parrish (15 points, 10 rebounds), Lawrence (13 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals), and Jessica Adair (11 points, eight rebounds).

The Scarlet Knights, who were picked to finish second in the Big East, were tabbed at #3 in both preseason polls. Last season, Rutgers went 27-9 and was the national runner-up, falling to Tennessee 59-46 in the NCAA Tournament title game. The Scarlet Knights return all five starters from that team, and have four players averaging double figures in scoring: All-Big East First Team selection 5-9 sophomore guard Epiphanny Prince (14.1 points, 5.3 rebounds per game this season), All-Big East First Team selection 5-8 senior guard Matee Ajavon (12.2 points, 5.2 assists), Big East Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team selection 6-0 senior guard/forward Essence Carson (10.3 points, 4.9 rebounds), and All-Big East Second Team selection 6-4 junior center Kia Vaughn (10.2 points, 8.3 rebounds). Coach C. Vivian Stringer is in her 13th season with the Scarlet Knights, holding a record of 283-131; she is 803-266 in 37 seasons as a head coach.

Rutgers is coming off of a 69-58 win over seventh-seeded Iowa State on Monday in Des Moines, IA. In that one, four Scarlet Knights reached double figures in scoring: Vaughn (23 points, five rebounds), Prince (17 points, six rebounds), Ajavon (16 points, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals), and Carson (10 points, three steals). Rutgers has been ranked in the top five in both national polls for much of the season, never falling lower than seventh. The Scarlet Knights are 12-5 away from Piscataway, NJ. This is Rutgers' 19th-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights are 6-3 in regional semifinal games.

This is the 35th-ever meeting between these former Atlantic 10 rivals; GW is 8-26. The last meeting came on November 18, 2007, which #6/7 Rutgers won 67-42 at the Smith Center. In that one, Adair (nine points, five rebounds), Beck (nine points), and Lawrence (nine points, four rebounds) paced the #14/12 Colonials. However, GW was held to just 13-59 (22%) shooting from the field. The Scarlet Knights had three players reach double figures in scoring: Ajavon (19 points), Vaughn (13 points, 12 rebounds), and Carson (12 points, seven rebounds). Rutgers has won the last two meetings in the series.

There was something about seeing Rutgers yesterday during the team's media session and open practice. The players seemed a little too loose during their workout, laughing through many of the drills. Stringer didn't know Beck or Lawrence's name. Rutgers is talented enough to not prepare fully for GW and still win, but I smell all the makings of an upset. I have a sneaking suspicion the Colonials are the team that wants it more.

Paul Marmaro and I have the call for WRGW with Alex Tainsh, Ben Toder, and Julian Gompertz handling production duties. You can listen here starting at two p.m. Mike Patrick, Doris Burke, and Rebecca Lobo have the call for ESPN2. You can watch live starting at 2.30 p.m.

Game notes: GW is 18-14 in the NCAA Tournament...The Colonials are 1-2 in the regional semifinals...The win came against North Carolina in 1997...The losses were to Colorado in 1995 and North Carolina last season...GW is 3-1 as a six seed, having beaten Maine before falling to Virginia in 1996...McKeown is 18-16 in 16 NCAA Tournament appearances...McKeown's New Mexico State squads reached the tournament in 1987 and 1988...The current senior class is 6-3 in the NCAA Tournament...GW is 7-3 against teams that qualified for this season's tournament...The wins came against Virginia, Western Kentucky, Texas A&M, Auburn twice, California, and Xavier...The losses came to Rutgers, Temple, and Xavier...The Colonials have broken the program record for wins in back-to-back seasons...GW is 55-10 over the last two seasons...The Colonials went 54-13 from 1995 to 1997...GW is 5-2 on Sundays, 14-0 when scoring at least 70 points, and 18-0 when holding opponents under 60 points...The Colonials are 13-5 away from the Smith Center and 4-2 on neutral courts...This is Rutgers' fourth-straight Sweet 16 appearance...Carson appeared in her 131st career game against Iowa State, a record for the program...Vaughn needs just 13 points to become the 27th player in Rutgers history with 1,000 career points.

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

Update, 5.59 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)

Rutgers
G - Matee Ajavon (5-8 senior from Newark, NJ)
G - Epiphanny Prince (5-9 sophomore from Brooklyn, NY)
F - Essence Carson (6-0 senior from Paterson, NJ)
F - Heather Zurich (6-1 junior from Montvale, NJ)
C - Kia Vaughn (6-4 junior from Bronx, NY)

GW's season comes to an end following a 53-42 loss to the Scarlet Knights. The Colonials trailed by 12 at the half, but closed within four with just under four minutes to play. However, Carson took over down the stretch, scoring the final nine points for Rutgers, who will face top-seeded Connecticut on Tuesday with a Final Four bid on the line.

On the road with the Colonials: Day nine

2008-03-29T10:38:00.017-04:00

Good morning from rainy Greensboro, NC. The team just got done with the detailed Rutgers scouting report and film session, which followed a nine a.m. breakfast (no photographic evidence because who really wants their picture taken that early?). It is clear that the squad learned a lot from the November 18 matchup. Tomorrow's contest should be an interesting one.

Everyone departs the hotel at 12.45 p.m. for practice and a media session. I'll be back with more from Greensboro Coliseum around then. Please check back later.

Update, 1.55 p.m. - It was a rainy 15-minute ride from the hotel to Greensboro Coliseum (pictured to the left). The team arrived just in time for its media session. Coach Joe McKeown was up first, followed by Jessica Adair, Kimberly Beck, and Sarah-Jo Lawrence (also pictured to the left). Quotations and other fun nuggets of information to come later on after the squad's practice, which is just getting underway.

For those wondering, the blue NCAA logo at midcourt is now built into the floor. There had been issues of players slipping on the sticker in the previous rounds on both the men's and women's sides, but the staff here installed it into the hardwood yesterday.

Update, 2.12 p.m. - WRGW alum Mike Patrick (GW class of 1966) is here preparing for tomorrow's ESPN broadcasts (he's shown to the left talking to McKeown - I know it's from a distance, but I already went over there and bothered him once, so I felt badly doing it again). We talked to him for a little while, and Patrick said that WRGW started covering basketball during his time with the station; before then, football had been the only thing on the airwaves. He said he made the decision to start broadcasting games after he realized he couldn't cut it as a baseball player. Patrick said he went to WRGW and asked if they needed any sports announcers, and they had him on the air two hours later. He also told us that basketball broadcasts cost the station about $6 per game during his tenure at WRGW. If you've never met him, Patrick is a really nice guy. Thanks to him for taking five minutes out of his busy schedule to give us an entire lesson on broadcasting.

Update, 2.39 p.m. - Paul Marmaro went to cover the Rutgers media session while I watched GW's practice. He brought back the audio from coach C. Vivian Stringer, and here is part of what she had to say about the Colonials: "While Peck has been, Beck has been the point guard, I think that Mary-Jo and the other players are stepping up." Oops!

We'll post the text from the session later.

Update, 2.51 p.m. - GW's practice (pictured to the left) is wrapping up. The players and coaches were extremely focused during the 50-minute session, and everyone seems to be happy with how it went.

We're going to stick around and watch the Rutgers practice, so check back for more in a little while.

Update, 3.26 p.m. - Rutgers is currently practicing here at Greensboro Coliseum (pictured to the left). The team started out loose, sharing a ton of jokes, but now they've buckled down and have started to run through a number of drills. The guards are to our right with Stringer, while the post players are on the opposite end of the floor.

We're going to get some lunch, then we'll be back with all of the quotations from the GW and Rutgers media sessions. Please check back in a little while.

Update, 5.20 p.m. - Here are the quotations from the GW and Rutgers media sessions:

Opening statement by McKeown: "We are excited to be at the regionals again. We were here last year. Coming off of the final 16 with a lot of players back, obviously the goal is to first get to the tournament, and then try to do the best you can. We have a great matchup with Rutgers on Sunday. They are a terrific team. Obviously, they are one of the best teams in the country. it should be fun because it's a team I think we are really excited for."

McKeown on how both teams have changed since their meeting in November: "I think both are battle-tested. Rutgers, who has beaten Connecticut, has had some great wins along the way. In some respects, the game against Tennessee, you could almost chalk that up as a win. They are playing really well. Naturally, they play great in this tournament. Coming off of those two games in California really gives us some momentum and some confidence, and we're starting to get healthy. I think both teams are hitting their strides at the right time."

McKeown on what went wrong in the first game against Rutgers: "It just snowballed. We got off to a bad start and Rutgers played really well. We couldn't get on track. It was just one of those things."

McKeown on his team's NCAA Tournament experience: "The margin of error really narrows when you get to this round. Last year, it was North Carolina for us. When you make a mistake, sometimes in the regular season you can get away with it. When you make a mistake against North Carolina, it snowballs. We preached all year that when you get into the tournament, everyone's good. There's no one playing right now that isn't good. We have to play better, too, and step our game up. Last year, against Carolina, we could never get on track. This time it's about taking care of our business."

McKeown on what makes Rutgers so tough: "Obviously, what makes them so dangerous is their balance, how they can hurt you in so many ways. If you have to double Kia Vaughn, you're leaving someone else open. They remind me of an NBA team in how they get shots off in the last five or six seconds of the shot clock. They're very patient and any number of people on that team can make the shot."

McKeown on the play of Antelia Parrish: "She's a big part of what we do right now. She's somebody who can play a lot of different positions. She can rebound, she can shoot, she can jump inside when you need her, and she is also a terrific passer. She's just an all-around player."

Lawrence on if there is any extra incentive after already losing to Rutgers by 25 points this season: "It definitely offers incentive. We're reminded of that loss, and it's one of those losses that you can't not think about. It gives us incentive to show that we're not the team that everyone saw. That's really not us at all. We're ready to prove that that wasn't really GW."

Beck on what the team has learned from previous NCAA Tournament games: "They are all physical and are all really aggressive. Rutgers isn't any different, so we know we really have to bring it to them and have to be aggressive on the boards and on defense. I think it will help us a lot."

Adair on facing Kia Vaughn: "She's a great post player. I think she's one of the best in the tournament this year. I have to bring my A-game and go at her. Playing against her already, I know what to expect, and it should be a great matchup."

Adair on what the team learned from the game against Rutgers in November: "We have to come out stronger and really bring our A-game and play hard for 40 minutes. We've played against them before, so that's definitely an advantage that we have."

Same question for Beck: "It helps us that we've played them before and we know what to expect. We have to be more aggressive. We got in a little foul trouble down low, but I think we'll be fine."

Same question for Lawrence: "We have to step up and play at a higher level."

Stringer on how GW has changed since the first meeting: "That's always a concern for us, so we better be on high alert because (GW) didn't get here hoping and praying. I think they are focused a little bit more, going inside to the big girl. They were trying to do that before, but weren't as successful...The (GW) players are stepping it up. They are intense. We have to be patient and find the open player. They are also changing the scheme. Obviously, they are comfortable enough in their own system that they can make changes and cause us not to be as strong (as in November). They are a better team (than they were in November). We have to be concerned."

The team has dinner in a little while, followed by an evening of film sessions. I'll be back later with more.

Update, 11.57 p.m. - The team had dinner and a film session, which was closed to the media. The bus departs at 8.15 a.m. tomorrow for a shoot-around. We'll be back in the morning. Please check back then.

On the road with the Colonials: Day eight

2008-03-28T12:16:00.008-04:00

The GW caravan departs the Smith Center for Greensboro, NC at 1 p.m. today. More to follow after the roughly five-hour drive. Please check back later.

Update, 7.14 p.m. - Good evening from Greensboro. The team had a nice send-off (pictured to the left) at the Smith Center, as the cheer team and the Colonial Brass joined administrators, students, members of the men's team, and local news affiliates (seen talking to Sarah-Jo Lawrence on the left) to see the team board the bus for North Carolina. The group Mambo Sauce, whose song 'Welcome to D.C.' has been adopted by the squad (and is also used in WRGW's postseason introduction), was also present to pass out some materials and wish the team well.

The ride took about six hours. Along the way, I Am Legend and August Rush were shown. We made one stop somewhere in Virginia, where a football was tossed around on the grass. Life was good.

Time for dinner, which is the final activity of the day. Back with more tomorrow. Please check back then.

Channeling Johnny Most

2008-03-26T15:27:00.005-04:00

By request, here is Paul Marmaro and my WRGW call of the closing moments of Monday night's game against California. All I can say in my defense is that I had never lost my voice during a broadcast before. Our own Thomas Wall suggested I bring some Ricola to the next one.

I tried to post it in here with the fancy little tool that we often use, but each time I attempt to, it slows down the audio for some reason. My apologies.

Business time

2008-03-26T09:01:00.000-04:00

The field for the Sweet 16 is set, as sixth-seeded George Washington will face second-seeded Rutgers at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC on Sunday at 2.30 p.m. Top-seeded Connecticut will battle fifth-seeded Old Dominion at noon in the other regional semifinal.

Also, I've received a few requests to post the final call from Monday night's game. I'll do that when I get to the studio later today.

Beck nominated for All-America honors

2008-03-25T16:35:00.003-04:00

Kimberly Beck has been named one of 40 finalists for the 2008 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team. You can read the full release here.

Last week, Beck was named one of 52 regional finalists for the WBCA All-America Team. That release can be found here.

California roundup: Carolina in my mind

2008-03-25T08:32:00.005-04:00

-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story. Joanna Shapes writes on the emotion of the night.
-Damin Esper has the recap in a special to The Washington Post.
-The summary from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and California.

Rutgers' 69-58 win over Iowa State last night means the Colonials will get a rematch with the Scarlet Knights on Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina. GW's win marks the first time in school history that a team has reached the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons.

On the road with the Colonials: Day seven

2008-03-25T08:16:00.000-04:00

The AirTran charter flight from San Jose touched down at Dulles Airport at 6.15 a.m. From there, it was a short ride back to the Smith Center. Despite a lack of sleep, a new time zone, the cold weather, and an early start, it was still all smiles during the ride from those who were awake.

I've been told the team will not depart for Greensboro, NC until Friday. I'll be back then. Check back for any pertinent updates before the trip to North Carolina.

On the road with the Colonials: Day six

2008-03-24T02:27:00.005-04:00

At the end of today, either California or GW will be dancing all the way to the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, NC, while the other will be heading home following a loss in the second round.

GW has an 8.30 a.m. shoot-around. The session is closed to the media, so there will be no update. Afterwards, the squad will lay low before departing for Maples Pavilion in the early part of the afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for five p.m. Pacific Time.

With the lack of activity before today's game and the large amount of material I need to get through (some of which is pictured to the left), updates could be few and far between. However, I'll report anything noteworthy when necessary. I have posted today's game preview below. Please check back later for more.

Update, 11.24 a.m. - Good morning on this final day in California. Win or lose, the squad will take a 10.15 p.m. charter from San Jose to Dulles Airport.

GW's shoot-around was pushed back, so the team departed for Stanford about 45 minutes ago. Again, the session was closed to the media, so there is nothing to report at this time. I've been told the squad will leave for the game around three p.m. local time. I'll be back with more later.

Update, 4.36 p.m. - The team departed the hotel a little after three p.m. to the encouragement of the cheer squad and the music of the Colonial Brass (pictured to the left). The bus ride over to Maples Pavilion was quiet, as most of the players opted to listen to music.

For the first time since we've been in California, the squad got a police escort (pictured to the left) from the California Highway Patrol over to Palo Alto (let the Chips jokes begin).

Time to get to work. We'll be back with a postgame wrap-up when it's all said and done. Just a reminder that you can listen to the broadcast here starting at 7.30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Update, 7.19 p.m. - In one of the most unbelievable finishes you'll ever see, GW rallies from a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to stun California 55-53 on a buzzer-beater by Sarah-Jo Lawrence. With just under six seconds remaining, Whitney Allen inbounded to Kimberly Beck, who air-balled a floater from the far wing. Lawrence grabbed the rebound and released the shot with a second remaining. The officials went to the television monitor to review it, and the result was a sea of buff and blue celebrating on the NCAA logo at half court.

California had the ball with the shot clock off when Natasha Vital was trapped by Lawrence and Allen. The officials ruled Vital traveled before calling a timeout, which set up the dramatic finish. In the postgame press conference, Golden Bears coach Joanne Boyle said, "She didn't travel." That call is sure to be talked about for weeks to come.

I've been told it's a raucous scene in the locker room. From here, the team will get on the bus and head to the airport in San Jose for what is sure to be a joyous red eye flight back to the nation's capital. GW will face either second-seeded Rutgers or seventh-seeded Iowa State on Sunday in Greensboro, NC. There are at least 40 more minutes left in the careers of Beck, Lawrence, Allen, and Lora Mitchell.

I'll be back in the morning on the other side of the flight with more. Please check back then.

Game 61: Women vs. California

2008-03-24T01:15:00.002-04:00

The #20/16 women's team faces third-seeded #10/8 California (27-6) this evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament from Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA. Sixth-seeded GW (26-6) is coming off of a 66-56 win over 11th-seeded Auburn on Saturday. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (17 points, 13 rebounds), Antelia Parrish (15 points, seven rebounds, three steals), Sarah-Jo Lawrence (11 points, six rebounds, five assists), and Whitney Allen (11 points, eight rebounds). GW 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 Golden Bears, who were picked to finish third out of 10 teams in the Pacific 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 23-9 and lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. California has three players averaging double figures in scoring: First Team All-Pac-10 selections 6-1 junior forward/center Ashley Walker (15.2 points, 9.3 rebounds per game this season), who led the conference in rebounding and double-doubles, and 6-3 junior forward/center Devanei Hampton (13.9 points, eight rebounds), who was also named to the conference's All-Defensive Team, and Second Team All-Pac-10 selection 5-8 junior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson (1.5 points, 3.7 rebounds). Coach Joanne Boyle is 68-27 in her third season at California; she is 135-56 in six seasons as a head coach. Boyle was the head coach at Richmond from 2002 to 2005, where she went 0-7 against McKeown's GW squads. Coming into the NCAA Tournament, the Golden Bears ranked 12th in the nation in scoring defense, sixth in defensive field goal percentage, and ninth in rebounding margin.

California is coming off of a 77-60 win over 14th-seeded San Diego on Saturday. In that one, two Golden Bears reached double figures in scoring: Hampton (22 points, four rebounds) and Walker (21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals). California shot 30-62 (48.4%) from the field, forced 24 San Diego turnovers, and won the points in the paint battle 48-20. The win was just the second in the program's NCAA Tournament history, the fitst since 1993. The Golden Bears come into this one 4-3 in their last seven games. California reached the final of the Pacific 10 Conference Tournament before falling to #4/7 Stanford 56-35. The Golden Bears are 14-5 away from their home court and 3-1 on neutral floors.

This is the first-ever meeting between these programs.

This is a tough pick to make. GW struggled the last time it faced a team with a heavy interior presence, losing to Xavier in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. If the Adair sisters get into foul trouble, it could be a rough night for the Colonials. However, it seems as though this team is up to the challenge California presents. The pick here is for GW to reach the Sweet 16 for the second-straight year.

Paul Marmaro and I have the call for WRGW with Greg Shapiro, Julian Gompertz, David Earl, and Ben Toder handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 7.30 p.m. Eastern Time. Dave Pasch, Deb Antonelli, and Heather Cox have the call for ESPN2. You can watch live starting at eight p.m. Eastern Time.

Game notes: GW is 17-14 in the NCAA Tournament...The Colonials are 3-9 in the second round...GW is 2-1 as a six seed, having beaten Maine before falling to Virginia in 1996...McKeown is 17-16 in 16 NCAA Tournament appearances...McKeown's New Mexico State squads reached the tournament in 1987 and 1988...The current senior class is 5-3 in the NCAA Tournament...GW is 6-3 against teams that qualified for this season's tournament...The wins came against Virginia, Western Kentucky, Texas A&M, Auburn twice, and Xavier...The losses came to Rutgers, Temple, and Xavier...GW is 7-3 against teams from the Pac-10...The Colonials have matched the program record for wins in back-to-back seasons...GW is 54-10 over the last two seasons...The Colonials went 54-13 from 1995 to 1997...GW is 1-0 on Mondays, 14-0 when scoring at least 70 points, and 17-0 when holding opponents under 60 points...The Colonials are 12-5 away from the Smith Center and 3-2 on neutral courts...California's 27 wins are the most in program history...The previous record was set by the 1983-1984 squad, which went 24-8...The Golden Bears are 2-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament...Walker is averaging 20.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three career NCAA Tournament games...The Golden Bears are 7-5 against teams that qualified for this season's tournament.

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

Update, 7.27 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)

California
G - Natasha Vital (5-8 sophomore from Stockton, CA)
G - Alexis Gray-Lawson (5-8 junior from Oakland, CA)
G - Lauren Greif (5-10 sophomore from Portland, OR)
F - Ashley Walker (6-1 junior from Fairfield, CA)
C - Devanei Hampton (6-3 junior from Oakland, CA)

Lawrence is the hero as her buzzer-beating jumper off an offensive rebound sends the Colonials dancing onto Greensboro, NC, where they will face either second-seeded Rutgers or seventh-seeded Iowa State on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights pounded the Colonials 67-42 when the two teams met at the Smith Center on November 18. That was the beginning of a stretch that saw McKeown's squad lose three of its next five games.

GW heads to the Sweet 16 for the second-straight year, marking the first time in program history that the Colonials have reached the regional semifinals in back-to-back years. Unfortunately, I have a flight to catch, so we'll be back in the morning with much more. As always, thanks for stopping by.

On the road with the Colonials: Day five

2008-03-23T10:54:00.011-04:00

Good morning from Santa Clara. While it is Easter Sunday, there is no break for the team as it prepares for tomorrow's matchup with California. After breakfast, the team sat and watched the film of yesterday's Auburn game (pictured above). Now the coaching staff is presenting the detailed scouting report on the Golden Bears.

Now it's off to practice and the news conferences. Back with more in a little while.

Update, 12.10 p.m. - Back in the media wing of the Arrillaga Family Sports Center. The team is currently practicing across the street in Maples Pavilion. The session is closed to the media, so there is nothing to report at the moment. I will ask about it at the GW news conference, which begins at 1.50 p.m. Please check back later.

Update, 2.11 p.m. - The team just got done with its media session (pictured to the left). Coach Joe McKeown and company said they are looking forward to tomorrow's matchup against Cal. One of the keys mentioned a couple of times was not being too edgy like the squad was in the first half against Auburn yesterday. I'll get to work on transcribing the full conference on the bus ride back to the hotel. Check back in a little while.

Update, 6.36 p.m. - My apologies for the delay. Here are the highlights from the GW press conference:

McKeown's opening statement: "I'm very happy, obviously, to get past Auburn, and looking forward to a great matchup against Cal tomorrow night, and it should be a really exciting basketball game. I thought we played really well, kept our poise in the last 10 minutes of the game yesterday. I thought we struggled a little bit in the first half, but I was really proud of the way our players kept their composure, and they did what we had to do, basically, at the end of the game. Cal presents some different challenges for us. Obviously a strong inside game with Hampton and the other players, Walker. Their perimeter, Alexis Gray-Lawson, and it seems like they just have a lot of key parts who can shoot. They've had a great year, so it should be a terrific matchup."

McKeown on today's practice: "In the NCAA Tournament, in my experience, and you know we've been very fortunate to be in, I don't know, 15 or 16 of them. To me, what happened yesterday I'm not really that concerned with because we get a chance to play tomorrow. To be honest with you, I think our focus was more about Cal, and in all honesty, more about us, more about the things that we have to do to be successful tomorrow night and just play. I think the biggest thing you can do in this tournament, in the years that we've been able to get through a couple round has been not worrying about what happened the night before, and I think that's our attitude right now."

McKeown on if his familiarity with California coach Joanne Boyle from her days Richmond: "She did a terrific job at Ricmond, and put Richmond into the NCAA Tournament, and obviously has very quickly put Cal into the top 10 in college basketball, so I admire how quickly she has gotten this team to play at this level. I do think she's running, just when you watch a little bit of film, I've seen them on television a little bit because I stay up late, most coaches don't sleep, and just seeing some of the same things she did at Richmond. But I think they've done a real good job of adjusting to the players they've got here at Cal and trying to fit what would be successful with Devanei Hampton. She didn't really have that type of player at Richmond. Nobody did."

McKeown on making the adjustment from having a week to prepare for Auburn to two days for California: "Obviously the other team has the same situation. Although, I think at GW we're pretty much focused more on us than the other team. What we did preparing for Auburn was interesting because we just played them in January, so we had a lot of things to go off of. Cal obviously we haven't played at all. But in all honesty, I think in ways when you win a game in the NCAA Tournament...you want to play again. You really don't want to sit there and watch 26 scouting reports, 82 films, you know how coaches are. But these guys just want to play, so I think in a way if you're a player, you'd rather just turn around, play Saturday, and you're excited to play Monday."

Same question for Kimberly Beck: "We're all excited to be here and a week of practice was good. We needed the practice and we needed the rest and we needed to work on our execution, but we just wanted to get here and play. That's what the NCAA Tournament is all about. All the waiting around is nice, but we just want to get out there and play against somebody else other than ourselves in practice. So we're excited about Cal tomorrow, and it's going to be a great matchup."

Jessica Adair on the keys to battling the Golden Bears down low: "Stay out of foul trouble, bring my A-game tomorrow, and keep them off the boards, box out. Their post players are very good inside. I mean, it's the base of their team, and stopping them, I think we have a great chance to win."

Sarah-Jo Lawrence on what the team did well against Auburn: "I think we attacked as we needed to. We definitely rebounded. That's been a bit of a focus for us throughout the whole season...I think we were very unselfish as a team. It's hard to say you just stop two players on GW and they're going to fold. We have a starting lineup and bench players that can hang with pretty much anybody in the country, so I think it was sharing the ball, hitting the open people, and finishing and-ones all night that was really what made our game so interesting and so fun to play in, so I think we did a great job."

From talking to some of the California players, it seems as though Rama N'diaye will not be playing tomorrow night. N'diaye injured her right knee during the second half of yesterday's win over San Diego. This would be a big loss for the Golden Bears, as the 6-5 sophomore is third on the team in rebounding and fifth in scoring. N'diaye is usually the first player off the bench for Boyle, and the most talented interior reserve on the squad. In a game that will likely be decided in the post, the absence of N'diaye could be a major factor.

It's almost dinner time for the team. I'll be back with more later.

Update, 8.59 p.m. - The team is settling in for another film session. It's closed to the media, so there will be no update, but McKeown said he was ready to buckle down for a long night of Cal preparation.

This is the final business activity of the evening for the squad. Tomorrow brings an 8.30 a.m. shoot-around. I'll be back then.

Auburn roundup: Stayin' alive

2008-03-23T08:38:00.002-04:00

-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story. Joanna Shapes writes on the play of Antelia Parrish.
-Julian Gompertz of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-John Reid has the story in a special to The Washington Post.
-The Washington Times has the Associated Press story.
-School recaps: GW and Auburn.

Nice win for the Colonials, as they advance to the second round for the fourth-straight year. Keep checking the blog for more updates from California.

In other news, the GW baseball team beat St. Joseph's yesterday in the first game ever played at Nationals Park.

On the road with the Colonials: Day four

2008-03-22T07:46:00.007-04:00

It's gameday. Months of practices and games have all led up to this day, which begins with an eight a.m. breakfast for the team. Everyone will then get on the bus at 9.15 a.m. to make the 15-minute drive to Maples Pavilion.

More to follow after breakfast. Please check back then.

Update, 8.19 a.m. - Well, if you were concerned about the early start time's impact on the team, don't be. Everyone was wide awake and in good spirits at breakfast. More to follow from Maples Pavilion.

Update, 10.09 a.m. - The team departed the hotel with a big send-off by the Colonial Brass and the cheer team (picture to the left). The 15-minute bus ride over to Maples Pavilion was quiet, as most players had headphones on.

The new most awkward moment of the week took place when the bus pulled into the arena. The Auburn band, thinking it was the Tigers' bus, lined up in front of the vehicle and prepared to play their fight song. When the GW coaching staff saw this, they told the players to get off the bus first. Needless to say, the Auburn band was extremely confused.

Time to get to work, as tip-off is less than an hour away. We'll try to get one more update up before then. Just a reminder that you can listen to the game here starting at 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Update, 1.34 p.m. - It's a joyous locker room as the Colonials beat Auburn 66-56, winning in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight year. After being held to just one field goal in the final six minutes of the first half, GW picked up the pace of the game after intermission and embarked upon a 28-12 run to close the contest. The Colonials will face either third-seeded California or 14th-seeded San Diego in the second round on Monday at either five p.m. or 7.30 p.m. Pacific Time. The team is now spread around Maples Pavilion watching the Cal-USD contest.

In the postgame press conference (pictured to the left), McKeown talked about his team's desire to win as the deciding factor in the game. The media session just ended, so I'm going to get to work on transcribing everything that was said. Please check back in a little while.

Update, 2.36 p.m. - I posted this in the game thread, but here are some notes from today's contest:

-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 program history in steals with 293 for her career.
-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.

I'm still sitting in the media room (picture to the left) working on transcribing the audio. I was a couple minutes late to the press conference because we were wrapping up our postgame show, so I'm waiting for the on-site NCAA staff to issue the official release.

Update, 4.05 p.m. - We're all back at the hotel in Santa Clara. The only thing on tonight's itinerary is dinner somewhere in the city. Here are the highlights from the postgame press conferences:

McKeown's opening statement: "(Auburn) proved today that they deserved to be in this tournament. We were a little jumpy in the first half. We were just excited to play in the tournament. We have a lot of seniors, and I felt we just needed to settle down. I thought in the second we did a much better job. I thought the last six or seven minutes we really played well and kept our composure. It was a tough, hard-nosed game, and that is what you would expect from this tournament and Auburn."

McKeown on halftime adjustments: "I thought in the second half, everyone started to step it up. We were much more aggressive at pushing the ball. Their zone was tough and they stayed in their zone. They wouldn't get out of it. We just had to keep getting the ball inside out, keep reversing the ball. I thought Whitney made some big plays behind their zone and Antelia made big plays in fromt of the zone, and that opened things up for Jessica."

Whitney Allen on guarding DeWanna Bonner: "In the second half we just locked down and tried to stay between her and the basket. She's a long and tall player; I think she has three inches on me. I just made sure I stayed in between her and the basket and tried to use my strength as a positive. I sat on her a lot. Don't let her get the ball, she can't score: that was my thinking."

Jessica Adair on rebounding: "Without rebounds, this game could have turned the other way. There comes a point in the game when you know something is going wrong, and you have you take control of that, and I think that is what we did."

McKeown on the play of Parrish and Allen: "We got double-whammied in December when they missed five games with injuries. Antelia was really playing well, and I just think that that time really hurt them. Antelia is somebody who can stretch a game out and just change the way people have to play defense. I'm really proud of her for the way she played tonight. Hopefully, Monday night she will start drilling threes at the end of the game. That's my challenge for her, and she's capable. I'm just really proud of the way she plays defense and the toughness she brings to the table, and I'm glad she will be back next year."

Auburn coach Nell Fortner's opening statement: "I thought we fought really hard today, we just couldn't really knock down some shots in the second half. I thought GW is a fine basketball team, and they just overpowered us in the second half. I was proud of how hard we played, but you have to knock down shots, and we just hit a period of time there where shots weren't dropping for us, and they made a pretty good run at us."

Fortner on GW's defense of Bonner: "Bonner has been playing big for us all year long. Game in and game out, she has been giving us everything she's got. I really think in the second half she was tired. She played 40 minutes and GW is a physical team, and it was a matter of getting tired at a key time, and I thought they denied her the ball pretty good. I thought it was a great defensive effort by GW."

Bonner on GW's defense: "I agree with coach: I think how many minutes I played counted. They were very physical with all five of us on the floor."

Fortner on the rematch with the Colonials: "It was helpful because we had seen them before. They are a very physical defensive team. They're very tough and they had a big post presence inside, and I think we were pretty much outmatched inside. I thought we were trying to do some things to try to affect their post players, and we did at times. But in the end, I think it wore us out. They do a great job in that matchup zone denying and playing it like a man. I think they're a very good basketball team."

That should be it for tonight. The team is practicing from 11 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. at Stanford tomorrow, followed by a media session from 1.50 to 2.20 p.m. I'll be back then.

Update, 10.52 p.m. - Just found out that GW will tip-off against California at five p.m. Pacific Time on Monday.

Game 60: Women vs. Auburn

2008-03-22T00:01:00.003-04:00

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.

On the road with the Colonials: Day three

2008-03-21T08:16:00.008-04:00

Good morning from Santa Clara. It's a busy day with an early start for GW. The team was instructed to come to breakfast dressed for practice. From here, we'll transport over to Maples Pavilion for the first time. After the news conference and a two-hour practice, the team has a few hours of free time until the post-dinner film session begins.

Obviously, it's a very important business day for the squad with just over 24 hours to go until tip-off. I'll be back in a little while with news and notes from the press conference.

Update, 11.08 a.m. - After breakfast in the hotel, the team spent about 15 minutes watching film on Auburn (see the picture to the left). Assistant coach Ali Jaques led the session; she said that the Tigers have added many new offensive sets since their loss to GW on January 3.

Just got done with the GW media session. Here is the transcript:

Opening statement by coach Joe McKeown: "First of all, I want to congratulate the teams that are here. It's interesting that we're playing Auburn in the first round since we just played them in January, so that's kind of a unique matchup that was a little bit unexpected. But that being said, all the brackets are set, all the teams are ready, and I think for our team it's just a great opportunity to keep playing and we have a lot of experience from the standpoint this is the fourth ncaa tournament for our seniors. They've played really well in this tournament. Haven't always won every game, but have played well. And last year we got to the final 16, lost to North Carolina. So I think there's a little chip on their shoulder. I know there's one on mine. We're just excited about the matchup. We have a lot of respect for Auburn. We hit a shot at the buzzer to beat them at Auburn, so it was one of those games that could have went either way. It was a great college basketball game, actually. It went down to the last second, so I expect tomorrow to be a great game, also."

McKeown on the advantages and disadvantages of facing Auburn again: "I'm not sure there's any real advantage or disadvantage either way. I think it's just more a familiarity. We're very familiar with each other. We played twice in the last, you know, we played them at GW the year before, too, in December. Obviously we're familiar with what they do, and it's just stopping them because one of the the things that we learned down in Auburn and in the game the year before is Bonner is one of the top players in the country, I think one of the top players in this tournament, and they've got a really solid surrounding cast. But I think like any NCAA Tournament, for us it's more about things that we're going to try to do, and leaning on our seniors, too, and our experience. It'll be a tough matchup."

Sarah-Jo Lawrence on being back in the NCAA Tournament as a senior and trying to meet the goal of reaching the Final Four set at the beginning of the season: "Well, I think the goal still stands. We've had a lot of ups and downs this season, but it's like every season, we play every game. We still have the same goals coming into this tournament, but we can't look so far ahead. We're taking it one game at a time. You know, we learned that this year with kind of overlooking games, so we're at the point right now where we're just taking every game for what it is, and we're looking at Auburn right now and seeing what we can do. Since we already played them this season, we're seeing what we did well, what we can improve on to make it a good game and hopefully come out with the victory."

Same question for Kimberly Beck: "NCAA Tournament - it's our last one. This is what it's all about. This is what we've been practicing for and playing for all year, so we're happy to be here. We're ready to play Auburn on Saturday. It's been a long week of practice, working the kinks out, and just preparing for the games ahead. Like Sarah-Jo said, we're taking it one step at a time, so Auburn's on our plate first, and that's what we're going to handle."

Same question for Whitney Allen: "This tournament is about having fun and I think if we go out there and play GW basketball and have fun the rest will work itself out and we will accomplish our goals and it will be a great time."

McKeown on how Auburn has changed in the two and a half months since the two teams last played: "I'll tell you the one thing that people have to understand about Auburn: Nell Fortner's a terrific coach. Won the gold medal with our Olympic team. Done a terrific job at Auburn, Purdue, had Purdue in the NCAA Tournament, and coached in the WNBA. I think they've done a really good job of just taking their team during the SEC Conference and adjusting because they had to change some lineups and everything. Right now I think she's got them playing really well. Like any team that you play in December or early January, teams change, teams evolve, just like us. I think we're a different team than we were in January. But I think Auburn, she's really made some adjustments that I think fit her team really well."

McKeown also told everyone that this is Allen's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance. I meant to take pictures during the press conference, but I was the only media member there, so I was busy (the interview room is pictured to the left).

Update, 11.18 a.m. - Before I headed over to practice, Auburn sat down for its media session. I asked coach Nell Fortner her thoughts on facing GW again and what advantages and disadvantages the rematch brings:

"There's definitely an advantage in a sense that you've already played them, so coaches are familiar, players are familiar. You have a lot of the scouting already done, so it gives you an opportunity to re-familiarize your team with George Washington. I think the disadvantage is that you have played each other, just the opposite side of the coin on that one. They know our players, and I'm sure they're doing things to take some things away from them. But we're doing the same thing, so I don't think it's good or bad one way or the other. It just is what it is. It's like another game during the season that you've played somebody before and you're just playing them again."

Now I'm really on my way to GW's practice.

Update, 12.48 p.m. - The team is wrapping up practice at the Ford Center, which is across the street from Maples Pavilion. Think of the Ford Center as the Stanford equivalent of the Lerner Health and Wellness Center, but much nicer (for example, an entire gymnastics room is located behind me). The players and coaches seem happy with how the session has gone. This is the final practice before tomorrow's game, so everyone is really locked in at this point.

California was practicing in this gymnasium before the Colonials, and Auburn is here next. Therefore, it's time to leave Stanford's campus and head back to the hotel. More to follow later on. Please check back then.

Update, 8.04 p.m. - The team just finished going through the lengthy scouting report on Auburn. After giving an overview of each Tigers player, the coaches are now critiquing footage of the meeting from January 3 (pictured to the left). All of the players have been extremely attentive during the session, and some have raised questions of their own to the coaching staff.

I can't forget to mention the awkward moment of the day, which occurred when the team was leaving the Ford Center for the team bus. While walking down the sidewalk past Maples Pavilion, GW crossed paths with Auburn, as the Tigers were sitting on the grass outside of the arena enjoying the California sunshine. No words were exchanged, but it was certainly an interesting moment.

It's another early start tomorrow. After an eight a.m. breakfast, everyone will get on the bus and depart for Maples Pavilion at 9.15 a.m.

I'll be posting the game preview later on tonight. We'll try to update with more information tomorrow, but we have a broadcast to take care of, so it may take us a little while to catch up. Please check back then.

On the road with the Colonials: Day two

2008-03-20T09:32:00.018-04:00

Good morning from San Jose. The team just got finished eating breakfast. The general consensus among the players is that they have successfully adjusted to Pacific Time. Unfortunately, the same can not be said about the rest of us. Now everyone is packing their stuff and getting ready to depart the hotel.

From here, the team will head to its first practice in California. The two-hour workout will be held at Castilleja High School in Palo Alto; it's about a 30-minute shot straight up the 101. From there, we will check into the hotel in Santa Clara, which is where the entire GW contingent will be staying for the rest of the time here. After that, it's onto San Francisco for an afternoon and evening of sightseeing.

If the high school has wireless internet access, I'll update from there in a couple of hours. If not, I'll update from the hotel in Santa Clara. Please check back later.

Update, 2.08 p.m. - Good afternoon from Santa Clara. After a two-hour practice (pictures to the left), the team arrived at the new hotel a few minutes ago. Most of the employees greeted the squad dressed in buff and blue GW shirts, with some wearing the infamous foam tri-cornered hats (see below and to the left).

The team had a pretty good practice at the huge all-girl high school in the residential portion of Palo Alto. The squad started out loose and focused, but the coaching staff became unhappy with the players' effort about midway through. For the final 45 minutes, the team got back to competing at an extremely high level of intensity on both ends of the floor. After concluding the session by going through some of the scouting report on Auburn, everyone got back on the bus feeling positive about the two-hour practice.

With less than 48 hours to go until tip-off against Auburn, you can feel that the coaches and players are really starting to buckle down.

Now it's off to San Francisco. This is the final non-business event before the game on Saturday. I'll be back with more later.

Update, 10.46 p.m. - After stopping for lunch at In-N-Out Burger, the squad was given a tour of San Francisco from the team bus. We made a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge, where pictures were taken that I'm told will appear in next year's media guide. Then, the team was given approximately an hour of free time to wander around the piers on the waterfront (where we encountered a ton of sea lions, as shown in the bottom picture) before walking a few blocks to dinner at McCormick & Kuleto's. In another ironic twist, we were told that Auburn was scheduled to eat dinner at the same restaurant, but the soon-to-be opponents did not cross paths.

Tomorrow is a long day for the Colonials. After a nine a.m. breakfast at the hotel, everyone will ship over to Maples Pavilion for the first time for practice and the team news conference. From there, the squad will move across the street to Ford Center to continue practicing. Then, it will be time to watch film on Auburn.

I'll be back tomorrow with some material from the press conference. Please check back then.

On the road with the Colonials: Day one

2008-03-19T17:32:00.000-04:00

Greetings from sunny San Jose, California. After just under six hours of flight time, GW's players, coaches, family members, administrative staffers, and members of the Colonial Brass and cheer team touched down on the Pacific coast a few minutes before four p.m. local time.

The traveling pack departed the Smith Center this morning for an early afternoon charter flight out of Dulles Airport (seen in the above picture). The players and coaches were in good spirits, clearly looking forward to another visit to the west coast.

Taking it back to the days when airlines used to feed passengers with actual meals, we were treated to a lunch consisting of chicken and pasta (as shown in the picture to the left).

Ironically, we were informed by Delta crew members that the plane's next destination is College Station, Texas, where it will pick up the Texas A&M women's team. The Aggies are coached by Gary Blair, a longtime friend to GW coach Joe McKeown.

Tonight will consist of a team dinner and a trip to the mall to try and get everyone's internal clocks on Pacific Time. Tomorrow is the squad's first day of practice in California. Afterwards, everyone will ship out of San Jose and into the hotel in Santa Clara, where the team will be located for the rest of the trip.

Time for dinner. Please check back tomorrow for more updates.

Going to California

2008-03-18T22:34:00.003-04:00

The women's team departs for California tomorrow afternoon. Just a reminder that we will be doing extensive blogging with the squad from the Pacific coast. Please check back frequently after we touch down in San Jose.

(Just like) Starting over

2008-03-17T21:12:00.010-04:00

The women's team will face Auburn for the second time this season in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The sixth-seeded Colonials will tip-off with the 11th-seeded Tigers on Saturday in Palo Alto, California at two p.m. Eastern Time. You can view the rest of the bracket here.

#20/19 GW won 68-66 at #18/18 Auburn on January 3. In that one, Lisa Steele hit a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Colonials a tough road victory. You can find more information from that game here.

Very odd that the committee would go with a regular season rematch in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. During our Selection Monday special (the full audio is below), GW coach Joe McKeown said he couldn't remember such an instance in all his years of coaching.

On paper, it's a favorable road for the Colonials. They get Auburn, a team they beat earlier in the season that has lost four of its last six games, on a neutral floor in the first round. If the seeds hold, California would be the next opponent. If it comes to that, the Golden Bears should bring a sizable crowd, as the campus is fewer than 40 miles from Stanford. However, facing California would not be as bad for the Colonials as traveling to Norfolk, VA to visit Old Dominion would have been. In addition, out of all of the three seeds, I would much rather face the Golden Bears than the likes of Baylor, Duke, or Oklahoma State.

The team will be leaving for California on either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. We'll be updating frequently from the west coast, so please check back often.

Anyhow, here is the full audio from our Selection Monday special. Thanks to Jesse Hooker, the Sports Information Director for the women's team, for helping us put everything together. We also have to thank our guests Jack Kvancz, Mike Bozeman, Whitney Allen, and McKeown. Enjoy!

What's up, Pops?

2008-03-17T15:12:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, former men's standout Pops Mensah-Bonsu was on campus for much of last week. I've been getting a lot of questions about the former GW star, so here is the audio from the interview we did on March 10 during the Massachusetts game. Pops was supposed to sit down with us at halftime, but he went into the locker room and got sidetracked, so we spoke during the first media timeout of the second half (hence why he is interrupted by play-by-play on a couple of occasions). Hope you enjoy.

Selection Monday special on WRGW

2008-03-17T11:25:00.006-04:00

Tune into WRGW's Selection Monday show live tonight from the women's team's reception in the Smith Center. We will have numerous players and coaches on the air both before and after the bracket is unveiled, so it should be an interesting experience. Coverage will start at 6.30 p.m. You can listen here.

WRGW will also be doing extensive live-blogging on the road with the women's team throughout the NCAA Tournament. Stay tuned.

Update, 11.56 a.m. - Charlie Creme of ESPN has released his final Bracketology projection. It's a tough road for GW, as the sixth-seeded Colonials would face Michigan State in the first round. If the seeds held, GW would then face third-seeded Old Dominion on its home court in Norfolk, VA. The Colonials are placed in the Oklahoma City region with top-seeded Tennessee and second-seeded Rutgers.

Holding it down at six

2008-03-15T14:34:00.006-04:00

The women's team remains a six seed in Charlie Creme's latest edition of ESPN's Bracketology. Still a pretty good path on paper for GW with Liberty as the first round opponent, and a likely matchup with a struggling Baylor squad in the second round.

More to follow shortly on WRGW's expanded coverage of Selection Monday.

Recent roundup: Making up for lost time

2008-03-12T09:48:00.003-04:00

Always an exciting time when midterms coincide with the end of the regular season and conference tournaments. My apologies for the delay.

From the men at Charlotte:
-Dan Greene of The Hatchet has the story.
-Julian Gompertz of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Charlotte.

From the women vs. Rhode Island:
-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story.
-Max Feinblatt of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The Associated Press summary from The Washington Post is here.
-School recaps: GW and Rhode Island.

From the men vs. Massachusetts:
-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story. Ms. Shapes also says that everyone around the program is keeping quiet about the Maureece Rice situation. Concluding the busiest day of her life, Ms. Shapes has a notebook.
-Alex Goldstick of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The Associated Press summary from The Washington Post is here.
-School recaps: GW and Massachusetts.

From the women vs. Xavier:
-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story. Dan Greene says the loss isn't the end of the road.
-Evan Waxman of The Daily Colonial has the recap. Julian Gompertz says the time is now for Joe McKeown and Kimberly Beck.
-Kathy Orton of The Washington Post has the story.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Xavier.

In other news, Alex Byers of The Hatchet writes that Robin Murphy has left the women's team, while the squad fell to #16 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and #19 in the Associated Press Poll.

Hard times at the top

2008-03-11T10:54:00.003-04:00

Xavier's Stanley Burrell is not happy. Thanks to Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet for bringing the story to my attention.

Electric six

2008-03-10T15:49:00.003-04:00

The women are a six seed in Charlie Creme's latest Bracketology on ESPN. I really like this seeding for the Colonials, as the squad is familiar with Liberty and Kansas State is a good second round matchup.

In other Atlantic 10 news, no one from the men's team was named to any of the all-conference teams. It's a surprise that Rob Diggs did not get a look for the Third Team. Massachusetts' Gary Forbes was named the Player of the Year.

Game 59: Women vs. Xavier

2008-03-09T14:14:00.031-04:00

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.

Game 58: Men vs. Massachusetts

2008-03-08T15:48:00.018-05:00

The men's team hosts Massachusetts (20-9, 9-6) tonight at the Smith Center on Senior Day. GW (9-16, 5-10) is coming off of a 77-61 loss at Charlotte on Thursday night. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Rob Diggs (16 points, 10 rebounds), Wynton Witherspoon (15 points, five rebounds), and Noel Wilmore (13 points). However, the 49ers closed the game on a 21-6 run to hold on for the win.

The Minutemen, who were picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return two starters from the squad that went 24-9 and lost at West Virginia in the second round of the NIT. Massachusetts has four players averaging double figures in scoring: 6-7 senior forward/guard Gary Forbes (20.3 points, 8.9 rebounds per game this season), 6-2 sophomore guard Ricky Harris (16.8 points), 6-7 senior forward Etienne Brower (14.3 points, 6.6 rebounds), and 6-0 junior guard Chris Lowe (11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists). Coach Travis Ford is 57-33 in his third season with the Minutemen; he is 185-144 in 11 seasons as a head coach. Massachusetts ranks fourth in the nation in both points per game and blocks.

Massachusetts is coming off of a 100-63 home win over LaSalle on Wednesday. In that one, five Minutemen reached double figures in scoring: Forbes (26 points, 11 rebounds), Harris (21 points, seven rebounds), 6-9 senior forward Dante Milligan (18 points, six rebounds, five blocks), Lowe (14 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists, four steals), and Brower (11 points, five rebounds, three blocks). Massachusetts shot 38-73 (52.1%) from the field, including 14-31 (45.2%) from three-point land. The Minutemen outrebounded the Explorers 55-33 and received 44 points from their bench. Massachusetts comes into this one having won five-straight games, but the Minutemen are just 6-6 on the road.

This is the 58th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 33-24. The last meeting came on January 10, 2007 in Amherst, MA, which the Minutemen won 91-84. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (30 points, seven rebounds), Carl Elliott (19 points, six rebounds), and Diggs (10 points, eight rebounds). Massachusetts' Stephane Lasme recorded the first-ever triple-double against GW with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 blocks. Amazingly, the Colonials attempted 77 field goals in that contest. The loss snapped GW's 18-game conference winning streak. The Minutemen have won two of the last three meetings in this series, and three of the last four contests at the Smith Center. GW is 19-5 against Massachusetts all-time at the Smith Center.

GW has nothing but pride to play for, while Massachusetts is very much in the mix for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The pick here is for the Minutemen to come away with a road win.

Greg Shapiro and I have the call for WRGW with Scott Trocchia and Varun Saxena handling production duties. You can listen here at the conclusion of the women's game against Rhode Island. Our own Paul Marmaro will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.20 p.m.

Game notes: Fordham's win over St. Bonaventure earlier today eliminated GW from qualifying for the 2008 Atlantic 10 Tournament...The Colonials join Duquesne (2006), St. Bonaventure (2006-2008), and LaSalle (2007) as the only programs ever to fail to qualify for the A-10 Tournament...The last time GW did not participate in a postseason tournament was the 1973-1974 season when the squad went 15-11 under coach Carl Slone...The last time the Colonials did not reach 10 wins in a season was the 1988-1989 campaign, when the squad went 1-27 under coach John Kuester...Seniors Keri Gonsalves and Dominic Green will be honored before tonight's game along with student managers Alyssa Greco and Kimberly Nathan...GW is 35-4 in its last 39 home games...The Colonials are 8-3 at home...GW hasn't lost four home games in a season since going 7-4 at the Smith Center during the 2002-2003 campaign...GW is just 4-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 13 different starting lineups through 25 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 34% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...GW is 4-5 on Saturdays, 1-11 when allowing 70 points or more, and 5-10 coming off of a loss...Harris is the reigning A-10 Co-Player of the Week.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. Julian Gompertz will be live-blogging all night, so please check back later.

Update, 7:27 p.m. - Firstly, it is nice to see Travis King taking some warmup shots before the game. Many believe this season was lost when he went down, and to see him looking close to 100% is a wonderful sight among what will be a mostly somber senior night. Also worth mentioning there are a group of fans in the student section wearing bags on their heads, probably fitting seeing as this team will not be traveling to Atlantic City.

For the Senior Day festivities, it was weird not seeing Maureece Rice honored with Dominic Green and Keri Gonsalves, but the fans were chanting his name through the introductions. Wonderful to hear GW call Gonsalves "a dedicated walk-on" when he has not played in a game in two years. They also claimed Karl Hobbs called Dominic Green "the unsung hero" of this GW basketball team. Probably explains why we are 9-16 as Dom, while being entertaining off the court averages a whopping .7 ppg and .8 rpg. Those are truly the stats of an unsung hero. Starting lineups to come shortly.

Update, 7:35 p.m. - Here are your starting lineups:

Massachusetts
G - Chris Lowe (6-0 junior from Mt. Vernon, NY)
G - Ricky Harris (6-2 sophomore from Baltimore, MD)
F - Gary Forbes (6-7 senior from Brooklyn, NY)
F - Etienne Brower (6-7 senior from West Hempstead, NY)
C - Dante Milligan (6-9 senior from New York, NY)

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Dominic Green (6-6 senior from Oakland, CA)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Green gets the start in what is a nothing game for GW other than maybe to put the Rice legacy to rest.

Update, 7:46 p.m. - We have a Pops-Mensah Bonsu sighting. Pops was playing overseas, but he is in attendance and will be on the halftime show for the WRGW broadcast so stay tuned for that. As for the game UMASS is up early 11-4 with a couple of three-pointers by senior captain Gary Forbes.

Update, 8:00 p.m. - Well nice to see GW show up to this one, albeit about eight minutes into the first-half. GW has used a 12-3 run to take a 20-18 lead with a couple big Wilmore three-point shots with an Alexander lay-up sandwiched in between. Sadly our leading scorer Rob Diggs is currently scoreless which brings up the interesting question how much talent is needed to win a basketball game against an NCAA bubble team with 5 straight wins?

Update, 8:44 p.m. - A tightly contested battle here between both the minutemen and colonials, with GW currently holding a 3-pt advantage. No colonial has more than nine points but they have hung together with some gritty efforts from guys like Wilmore, Hollis and Witherspoon.

Update, 9:10 p.m. - Under four minutes to play and this one is going down to the wire. GW leads 61-60 with Damian Hollis leading the team down the stretch with 18 points. The Colonials have had no answer for Ricky Harris who leads all scorers with 20. Similarly to Leemire Goldwire on thursday, GW seemingly has given him the same 3-pt corner shot three or four times this half, which makes you wonder how the Colonials can lead the A-10 in 3-pt FG% defense. Stay with WRGW for what should be an exciting end to a meaningless game.

Update, 9:26 p.m. - 23.5 seconds remaining and UMASS holds a 66-63 lead. The Colonials will look to tie this one, as shoddy refeereing down the stretch might have prevented GW from coming away with their 10th win of the year already. It is going to be one final hurrah.

Update, 10.30 p.m. - A valiant effort by the Colonials, but the Minutemen hold on for a tough 67-63 win. GW got strong performances from Hollis (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Wilmore (10 points, five rebounds), but the season ends tonight here at the Smith Center. At 9-17, it's the first sub-10 win season for the program since the disastrous 1-27 1988-1989 campaign.

Touching moment after the game when Hobbs was asked if he was disappointed Rice couldn't share in the festivities. After pausing a moment and becoming visibly emotional, Hobbs said he was disappointed, but that he wishes the senior the best of luck.

We'll be back later this week with a wrap-up of the men's season. However, GW basketball goes on, as the women face Xavier in the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament tomorrow afternoon. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Game 57: Women vs. Rhode Island

2008-03-08T14:32:00.008-05:00

The #13/12 women's team faces 10th-seeded Rhode Island (13-17, 6-9) in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Tournament this evening at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, PA. Second-seeded GW (24-5, 12-2) is coming off of a 66-27 home win over Fordham last Saturday on Senior Day. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Jazmine Adair (15 points, 12 rebounds), Kimberly Beck (13 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals), and Whitney Allen (12 points, 10 rebounds, five steals). GW held the Rams to just 10 points on 4-21 (19%) shooting from the field in the first half.

The Rams, who were picked to finish 12th out of 14 teams in the A-10, return four starters from the squad that went 6-23 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Rhode Island is led by preseason All-A-10 Second Team selection 5-6 senior guard Safi Mojidi (12.5 points per game this season) and 5-10 junior guard Amanda McGrew (9.5 points). Coach Tom Garrick is 46-90 in his fifth season at Rhode Island.

Rhode Island is coming off of a 61-49 win over seventh-seeded St. Bonaventure yesterday afternoon. In that one, three Rams reached double figures in scoring: McGrew (12 points, five steals), 5-8 junior guard Crystal Bellinger (11 points, six rebounds), and 5-10 junior forward/guard Sierra Cooper (11 points, five rebounds). Rhode Island forced 22 Bonnies turnovers as the Rams won an A-10 Tournament game for the first time since 2004. Rhode Island has lost five of its last seven games coming into this one.

This is the 37th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 32-4. The last meeting came on January 16, 2008 in Kingston, RI, which the Colonials won 48-45. In that one, Beck scored 23 of her career-high 25 points in the second half to help #13/13 GW narrowly avoid the upset. Mojidi led the Rams with 16 points and four steals. The Colonials have won the last 13 meetings in the series, which coach Joe McKeown is 24-2 against Rhode Island and 5-0 against Garrick.

GW has had this tournament on its mind all season. Look for a focused Colonials squad to be too much for the Rams to handle.

Adam Rosenbloom and David Earl have the call for WRGW with Chase Carpenter and Ross Romano handling production duties. You can listen here at approximately six p.m., or a few minutes following the conclusion of the Dayton-Charlotte contest.

Game notes: Tip-off was pushed back two hours because of a leaky roof at the arena...GW has won four A-10 Tournament titles...The last was in 2003...The current senior class is 5-3 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 31-21 all-time in the A-10 Tournament...The Colonials are 2-1 in the first round, 15-9 in the quarterfinals, 10-5 in the semifinals, and 4-6 in the finals...GW has reached the semifinals in 15 of the last 16 years...The Colonials are 6-4 in the A-10 Tournament as the #2 seed...GW needs one win to match the program record for most victories over a two-year stretch...The Colonials went 54-13 from 1995 to 1997...GW is currently 53-9 over the last two seasons...Jessica Adair needs 17 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 Elisa Aguilar for 14th place in program history...Lawrence needs 12 points to pass Anna Montanana for 13th place in program history...Allen needs one block to pass Jennifer Shasky for sole possession of ninth place in program history...Beck and Lawrence are the third-highest scoring duo in program history...The seniors have combined for 2,685 points...Darlene Saar and Debbie Hemery (1995) are first with 3,558 combined points, while Tajama Abraham and Lisa Cermignano (1997) tallied 3,412 combined points...Beck is believed to be the only player in Division I women's basketball history to have at least 1,300 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals, and 60 blocks in her career...The Colonials have won at least 20 games in each of the last nine seasons and in 17 of the last 18 years...Lawrence has been named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America Third Team...She joins Kenan Cole (first team in 2007) and Jennifer Shasky (second team in 1993) as the only Colonials to ever be named national Academic All-Americans...GW has been ranked for 37-straight weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, a program record...GW has made at least one three-pointer in 84 consecutive games...The Colonials are 6-2 on Saturdays, 13-0 when scoring at least 70 points, and 19-4 when coming off of a win...GW is 1-1 on a neutral court, having split games with UNLV and Samford at the Four Points by Sheraton Invitational in New Orleans, LA on November 30 and December 1.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse once we get closer to tip-off.

Update, 10.44 p.m. - Here were your starting lineups:

Rhode Island
G - Safi Mojidi (5-6 senior from Silver Spring, MD)
G - Crystal Bellinger (5-8 junior from New York, NY)
G - Amanda McGrew (5-10 junior from Santa Monica, CA)
C - Tanja Licina (6-1 junior from Belgrade, Serbia)
C - Whitney Hollis (6-3 senior from Brooklyn, NY)

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)

Dominant performance by the Colonials as Adair (12 points), Beck (11 points, six assists, five steals), Lawrence (10 points, four rebounds), and Allen (10 points, six rebounds) all reached double figures in scoring. After trailing 12-11 at the 15.30 mark of the first half, GW never looked back.

The women will face Xavier in the semifinals tomorrow afternoon at 2.30 p.m. We'll be back then. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Let it rain

2008-03-08T14:07:00.008-05:00

Day two of the women's Atlantic 10 Tournament has been delayed. WRGW's David Earl has an update:

"We arrived at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse at about 11:50 a.m., and about two minutes from tip-off, leaks on the floor were discovered in at least three distinct places. The rain has been coming down hard and steady for at least 36 hours now, and the officials from the A-10 had been considering alternate locations for the tournament because the rain is predicted to come down hard for at least the next four hours.

They brought in a cherry picker, and suspended a towel from the ceiling with alligator clamps to catch the water. You'll see it in the pictures."

The word now is that the women's game vs. Rhode Island has been pushed back to six p.m. Here are pictures from the scene courtesy of Mr. Earl:

Sarah-Jo and Pops

2008-03-07T14:52:00.004-05:00

Sarah-Jo Lawrence has been named one of two recipients of the 2008 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Scholarship, which "enable(s) deserving student-athletes to complete their undergraduate degrees or to begin work on advanced degrees." As one of only two winners nationwide, this is a huge accomplishment. Congratulations to Ms. Lawrence. You can read the rest of the release here.

Meant to post this the other day, but it got lost in the shuffle of traveling to Charlotte. I ran into Pops Mensah-Bonsu in Lerner Health and Wellness Center the other night. He said he's in town to see a doctor, but that everything is fine. Mensah-Bonsu also said he's enjoying his time in Europe.

Game 56: Men at Charlotte

2008-03-06T18:44:00.010-05:00

The men's team travels to Charlotte, NC to face Charlotte (16-12, 7-7) tonight at Halton Arena. GW (9-15, 5-9) is coming off of a hard-fought 66-56 loss at #9/11 Xavier on Saturday night. The Colonials tied the game with 6.23 left in the second half and trailed by only one with 2.18 to play before fading down the stretch. In that one, two GW players reached double figures in scoring: Rob Diggs (19 points, eight rebounds, three assists) and Johnny Lee (14 points).

The 49ers, who were picked to finish 10th out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return two starters from the squad that went 14-16 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Charlotte is led by two players averaging double figures in scoring: 5-11 senior guard Leemire Golwire (18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds per game this season) and 6-7 junior forward Lamont Mack (12.6 points, five rebounds). Coach Booby Lutz is 184-124 in his 10th season at Charlotte; he is 365-215 in 19 seasons as a head coach.

Charlotte is coming off of an 89-82 home win over Duquesne on Sunday afternoon. In that one, four 49ers reached double figures in scoring: Goldwire (21 points, four rebounds, five steals), Mack (19 points, four rebounds), 6-7 junior forward Charlie Coley (16 points), and 6-4 sophomore guard Ian Anderson (13 points). Charlotte shot 27-59 (45.8%) from the field and forced 18 Duquesne turnovers. The 49ers come in having lost six of their last nine games following a 13-6 start, which included wins over Davidson and at Clemson. The 49ers are 11-2 at Halton Arena and 12-3 in Charlotte, as the squad has played two games at Bobcats Arena.

This is the 17th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 9-7. The last meeting came on March 1, 2007 in Charlotte, which the Colonials won 62-60. Carl Elliott hit a turnaround jumper with 18 seconds left to give GW a tough road win. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (15 points, six rebounds), Elliott (14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists), and Damian Hollis (12 points, four rebounds). Goldwire led the 49ers with 16 points and nine rebounds. GW is 4-0 in the series since Charlotte joined the Atlantic 10 in the 2005-2006 season. GW has won five-straight in the series, including the last three in Charlotte. The 49ers are 5-4 all-time at home against the Colonials.

While GW has won only one game away from the Smith Center all season, the Colonials are back in the driver's seat in the race for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The pick here is for coach Karl Hobbs' squad to find a way to get it done on the road.

Greg Shapiro and Julian Gompertz have the call for WRGW with Ben Toder and Steven Smith handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 7.40 p.m. I will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.50 p.m. Matt McConnell and Pete Gillen have the call for CN8. You can watch live starting at eight p.m.

Game notes: Rice has been dismissed from the team...The Colonials control their own destiny in qualifying for the A-10 Tournament...GW has lost 12 of its 13 games away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 12-20 in their last 32 games away from the Smith Center...GW is just 4-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 12 different starting lineups through 24 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 35% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Hobbs is 5-1 against Charlotte, while Lutz is 4-5 against GW...Hollis is averaging 12.5 points and five rebounds per game in two career meetings with the 49ers...GW is 1-1 on Thursdays, 1-10 when allowing 70 points, and 5-9 coming off of a loss...21 of Charlotte's 28 contests have been decided by seven points or less...Goldwire has five 30-point games this season.

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

Update, 6.45 p.m. - Over GW's last three games, Rice had combined to score just seven points. In addition, over the Colonials' last seven games, Rice was averaging only 3.7 points per game, and was held scoreless in three of those contests.

Update, 6.52 p.m. - We can now confirm that Rice is not in Charlotte. The team just arrived at the arena, so check back for more soon.

Update, 7.24 p.m. - From the conversations I've had in the last 30 minutes, it is doubtful that we will be hearing anything else from the program on Rice's situation before tip-off. In a pregame interview with Mr. Kerr, Hobbs confirmed that the senior is off the team and said he hopes that Rice finishes his degree. Other than that, everyone around the program is tight-lipped on the situation.

Update, 7.53 p.m. - Here are your starting lineups:

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Wynton Witherspoon (6-7 junior from Duluth, GA)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Charlotte
G - DiJuan Harris (5-9 sophomore from Charlotte, NC)
G - Leemire Goldwire (5-11 senior from Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
F - An'Juan Wilderness (6-6 freshman from Dunwoody, GA)
F - Charlie Coley (6-7 junior from Lake Worth, FL)
F - Lamont Mack (6-7 junior from Chicago, IL)

13th different starting lineup in 25 games for the Colonials.

Update, 10.08 p.m. - The Colonials fall 77-61. After cutting the deficit to one with 4.55 left, Charlotte closed the contest on a 21-6 run to hold on. GW needs to win on Saturday and have St. Bonaventure beat Fordham to have any chance of making it to Atlantic City. The Bonnies and Rams tip at 2 p.m., so we'll know by the time the game gets underway at the Smith Center whether or not the Colonials are still alive.

That's all for tonight. We'll be back on Saturday when both squads are in action. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Maureece Rice dismissed from team

2008-03-06T17:55:00.003-05:00

Here is the release:

"George Washington University senior Maureece Rice (Philadelphia, PA) has been dismissed from the men’s basketball program, GW coach Karl Hobbs announced Thursday. Rice was dismissed for failure to adhere to team rules, according to Hobbs."

I am in Charlotte, so more to follow when we hear it.

Update, 6.12 p.m. - I talked to some of the CSTV individuals who are here at Halton Arena, and they said that they were aware of Rice being kicked off the team last night.

If the A-10 Tournament started today...

2008-03-06T01:45:00.000-05:00

-#1 Xavier (25-4, 13-1)
-#8 Dayton (19-9, 7-8)/#9 Saint Louis (16-13, 7-8)

-#4 Richmond (16-12, 9-6)
-#5 St. Joseph's (17-10, 8-6)/#12 George Washington (9-15, 5-9)

-#2 Temple (17-12, 10-5)
-#7 Charlotte (16-12, 7-7)/#10 Rhode Island (21-9, 7-8)

-#3 Massachusetts (20-9, 9-6)
-#6 LaSalle (14-15, 8-7)/#11 Duquesne (16-12, 6-9)

Men at Charlotte: College Hoops 2K8 Simulation

2008-03-05T22:01:00.004-05:00

GW who has just come off their first runaway loss of the season will look to get redemption on the road at the Halton Arena where they take on the Charlotte 49ers. Despite a win earlier in the week against #7 Rhode Island, the loss on the road to an unranked Xavier team prevented GW from breaking into the top 10 and dropped to #16. The loss also dropped them to second in the conference standings behind URI. Here are your starting line-ups:

For GW:

G Maureece Rice
F Damian Hollis
F Wynton Witherspoon
F Cheyenne Moore
F Rob Diggs

For Charlotte:

G Leemire Goldwire
G Ian Anderson
F An'juan Wilderness
F Charlie Coley
C Phil Jones

Despite Charlotte shooting 64% from the field and 42% from 3, GW wins by forcing 18 turnovers by a final score of 76-62.

Beck named A-10 Player of the Year

2008-03-05T15:58:00.004-05:00

In a poll conducted by the the Atlantic 10 Conference coaches, point guard Kimberly Beck was named this year's Atlantic 10 player of the year.

Beck paced the conference in assists, averaging 6.32 per game, and became just the 11th player in NCAA Division-I women's basketball history to lead a conference in assists all four years. She was named to the First Team for the third-straight time, and was joined by teammate Jessica Adair. This season, Beck was second on the team in scoring (13.6 ppg). She has also been one of the best defenders in the conference; Beck's 2.14 steals per game led her to a spot on the All-A-10 Defensive team with teammate Whitney Allen.

Joe McKeown on WRGW today

2008-03-03T11:21:00.009-05:00

GW women's basketball coach Joe McKeown will be appearing live on Box Out! at 5.30 p.m. today. You can listen here. If you send questions for McKeown to sports@gwradio.com, we will try to get to as many as we can.

Update, 6.54 p.m. - Here is the audio from the McKeown interview:

You can also access it here. The file is approximately 30 minutes long, so it might take a little while to load. As always, it was a pleasure to speak with McKeown. Special thanks to him for stopping by during this busy time of the season.

Saturday roundup: Things to feel good about

2008-03-02T13:44:00.005-05:00

From the women vs. Fordham:
-Dan Greene of The Hatchet has the story.
-Max Feinblatt of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-Kathy Orton of The Washington Post has the story.
-The Associated Press story from The Washington Times is here.
-School recaps: GW and Fordham.

From the men at Xavier:
-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story.
-Evan Waxman of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The summary from The Washington Post is here.
-The recap from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Xavier.

The women will be in action in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament on Saturday at four p.m. against either St. Bonaventure or Rhode Island. The Colonials lost 63-60 at the Bonnies on February 16, while GW struggled winning at the Rams 48-45 on January 16.

The men are now on the outside looking in for the conference tournament. The Colonials could use a Duquesne win over Charlotte today.

Women's A-10 Tournament set

2008-03-02T01:07:00.004-05:00

The tournament starts on Friday at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia, PA. GW faces either St. Bonaventure or Rhode Island on Saturday. Here is the full schedule:

Opening Round - Friday, March 7
12:00pm - #8 Richmond vs. #9 Duquesne (Game 1)
2:00pm* - #5 Dayton vs. #12 Massachusetts (Game 2)
4:00pm* - #7 St. Bonaventure vs. #10 Rhode Island (Game 3)
6:00pm* - #6 St. Joseph's vs. #11 Saint Louis (Game 4)

Quarterfinal Round - Saturday, March 8
12:00pm - #1 Temple vs. Game 1 Winner (Game 5)
2:00pm* - #4 Charlotte vs. Game 2 Winner (Game 6)
4:00pm* - #2 George Washington vs. Game 3 Winner (Game 7)
6:00pm* - #3 Xavier vs. Game 4 Winner (Game 8)

Semifinal Round - Sunday, March 9
12:00pm - Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner (CSTV) (Game 9)
2:30pm - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner (CSTV) (Game 10)

Championship - Monday, March 10
5:00pm Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner (ESPN2)

* Game times approximate, teams guaranteed a 20-minute warm-up

Game 55: Men at Xavier

2008-03-01T16:55:00.005-05:00

The men's team travels to Cincinnati, OH to face #9/11 Xavier (24-4, 12-1) tonight at the Cintas Center. GW (9-14, 5-8) is coming off of an 85-68 home win over Rhode Island on Wednesday night. In that one, two Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Noel Wilmore (24 points) and Damian Hollis (22 points, eight rebounds, four assists). GW has won three-straight and four of its last five games coming into this one.

The Musketeers, who were picked to finish first out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return three starters from the squad that went 25-9 and lost to Ohio State in overtime of the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Xavier has a mind-boggling six players essentially averaging double figures in scoring: 6-9 senior forward Josh Duncan (11.6 points, 4.7 rebounds per game this season), preseason All-A-10 First Team selection 5-7 senior guard Drew Lavender (11.2 points, 4.4 assists, 6-8 sophomore forward Derrick Brown (10.8 points, 6.7 rebounds), 6-6 junior guard/forward B.J. Raymond (10.8 points), , 6-6 junior guard/forward C.J. Anderson (10.5 points, 6.3 rebounds), and preseason All-A-10 Second Team selection 6-3 senior guard Stanley Burrell (9.9 points, 3.8 assists). Coach Sean Miller is 87-36 in four seasons at Xavier.

Xavier is coming off of a 57-51 win at Dayton on Sunday night. In that one, Duncan (14 points, four rebounds) was the only Musketeer to reach double figures in scoring. However, the visitors limited the Flyers to just 20-53 (37.7%) shooting from the field, including 3-11 (27.3%) from three-point land. Xavier has won 10-straight and 16 of its last 17 games coming into this one. The Musketeers have clinched the A-10 regular season title and are currently ranked sixth in the RPI. Xavier's biggest win of the season was an 80-65 triumph over #8 Indiana in the Chicago Invitational Challenge on November 24. The Musketeers are 14-1 at the Cintas Center this season; the only loss was to #12 Tennessee on December 22.

This is the 31st-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 9-21. The last meeting came on January 19, 2008 at the Smith Center, which the Musketeers won 74-66. GW cut the deficit to one on a Maureece Rice three-pointer with 1.47 to play, but #20/20 Xavier scored the final seven points of the game to avoid the upset. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Rice (22 points, five rebounds, four assists), Wynton Witherspoon (15 points, three assists), Hollis (12 points, 12 rebounds), and Rob Diggs (10 points, four rebounds). The Musketeers also had four players reach double figures in scoring: Lavender (14 points, seven assists), Duncan (14 points), Anderson (13 points, eight rebounds), and Raymond (12 points). Xavier has won the past two meetings and six of the last seven games in the series. GW is 3-9 all-time at Xavier, having won the last meeting in Cincinnati on February 6, 2006 by a score of 89-85.

Though coach Karl Hobbs' squad has been playing well lately, the pick here is for the Musketeers to prevail at home.

Greg Shapiro and I have the call for WRGW with Julian Gompertz and Alex Tainsh handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m. Our own Paul Marmaro will join Byron Kerr for the WFED broadcast. You can listen here starting at 6.50 p.m. Tom Hart and Steve Wolf have the call for CN8. You can watch live starting at seven p.m.

Game notes: The Colonials control their own destiny in qualifying for the A-10 Tournament...GW is 3-13 in regular season games against ranked teams under Hobbs...All of those wins have come at the Verizon Center in the BB&T Classic...GW has lost 11 of its 12 games away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 12-19 in their last 31 games away from the Smith Center...GW is just 4-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 12 different starting lineups through 23 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 35% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Xavier is 9-0 since these teams' first meeting this season, while GW is 4-6...Hobbs is 2-11 against Xavier and 1-4 against Miller...Miller is 4-1 against Hobbs' Colonials...The Colonials are 3-5 coming off of a win...Rice needs 19 points to pass Tom Glenn for 27th place in program history...Rice is averaging 13.6 points per game in five career meetings with Xavier...Diggs needs six blocks for 100 for his career...GW is 4-4 on Saturdays, 1-10 when allowing 70 points or more, and 3-0 with the starting lineup of Diggs, Hollis, Xavier Alexander, Rice, and Johnny Lee...All of those wins have come in the team's last three games against St. Bonaventure, Richmond, and Rhode Island...GW is 5-1 when Lee is in the starting lineup...Rice is averaging 11 points per game in 11 games away from the Smith Center...Rice is averaging 8.2 points per game in 10 home contests...Hollis is averaging 18.3 points per game over the three-game winning streak...Over the last seven games, Wilmore is 20-39 (51.3%) from three-point land...The current 10-game winning streak is the longest for Xavier under Miller...The Musketeers have had nine 20-win seasons over the last 10 years...They trail only Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Gonzaga, and Syracuse...Each of those schools has had 20 wins in each of the past 10 years.

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

Update, 11.29 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Xavier
G - Drew Lavender (5-7 senior from Columbus, OH)
G - Stanley Burrell (6-3 senior from Indianapolis, IN)
F - C.J. Anderson (6-6 junior from Cincinnati, OH)
F - Derrick Brown (6-8 sophomore from Dayton, OH)
C - Jason Love (6-9 sophomore from Philadelphia, PA)

A valiant effort by the Colonials as they were led by Diggs (19 points, eight rebounds) and Lee (a career-high 14 points). The Colonials tied it at 49-49 with 6.21 to go, but shot just 2-10 from the field the rest of the way in the 66-56 loss. Lee tallied 36 minutes of playing time, while Rice was held scoreless in just 14 minutes.

With Dayton's win over Fordham tonight, GW now needs some help in order to reach the A-10 Tournament. Thursday's game at Charlotte is now a must-win. We'll be back then. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Game 54: Women vs. Fordham

2008-03-01T01:31:00.007-05:00

The #15/15 women's team hosts Fordham (0-28, 0-13) this afternoon at the Smith Center on Senior Day. GW (23-5, 11-2) is coming off of a 75-59 win at Richmond on Wednesday night. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Sarah-Jo Lawrence (19 points, three assists, three steals), Jessica Adair (17 points, five rebounds), and Whitney Allen (11 points, 10 rebounds, three steals). GW shot 31-55 (56.4%) from the field, including 6-14 (42.9%) from three-point land.

The Rams, who were picked to finish last out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return two starters from the squad that went 3-25 and failed to qualify for the conference tournament. Fordham has two players averaging double figures in scoring: 5-7 freshman guard Megan Mahoney (15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds per game this season) and 5-9 junior guard Annie Zopf (10.9 points, 2.9 assists). Coach Cathy Andruzzi is 3-53 in her second year with the Rams; she is 127-147 in 10 seasons as a head coach.

Fordham is coming off of a 79-55 home loss to Charlotte on Wednesday night. In that one, three Rams reached double figures in scoring: Zopf (18 points, five rebounds), Mahoney (14 points), and 5-11 senior forward Beth Troutt (14 points). However, the 49ers led by 20 at intermission and held the home team to just 16-56 (28.6%) shooting from the field. Fordham comes into this one having lost 33-straight games dating back to last season. In 13 conference losses, the Rams have stayed within single digits of their opponents in only four of those contests. Fordham's average margin of defeat is 15.6 points per game.

This is the 14th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 13-0. The last meeting came on January 12, 2007 in the Bronx, NY, which the Colonials won 77-51. In that one, three GW players reached double figures in scoring: Adair (19 points, seven rebounds), Kenan Cole (12 points), and Lawrence (11 points, six assists). The #12/14 Colonials led 46-10 at intermission and held Fordham to just 3-21 (14.3%) shooting from the field in the first half. GW is 7-0 all-time against Fordham at the Smith Center with an average margin of victory of 26.3 points per game.

Expect an inspired effort by GW in the final home game for seniors Kimberly Beck, Lawrence, Allen, and Lora Mitchell. The pick here is for the Colonials to at least clinch a share of the A-10 title with a win.

Steven Smith and Alex Tainsh have the call for WRGW with Max Feinblatt handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.40 p.m.

Game notes: GW must win today and hope Massachusetts upsets Temple in order to gain the top seed in the A-10 Tournament...A Colonials loss or Owls win will give GW the #2 seed...The Colonials have won at least a share of the A-10 title 12 times, a conference record...Beck is believed to be the only player in Division I women's basketball history to have at least 1,300 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals, and 60 blocks in her career...Beck is the only A-10 player ever to do so...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...GW has won 12-straight at home and is 13-1 at the Smith Center...The 12-game home winning streak is tied for the ninth-longest in the nation...The Colonials have won 14-straight home conference games dating back to a 67-63 loss to Richmond on February 19, 2006...The current senior class is 28-1 at the Smith Center in regular season conference games...The current senior class is 53-5 at the Smith Center...The senior class is 97-27 in four seasons...GW has won 25 of its last 28 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...Lawrence has been named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America Third Team...She joins Kenan Cole (first team in 2007) and Jennifer Shasky (second team in 1993) as the only Colonials to ever be named national Academic All-Americans...GW has been ranked for 35-straight weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, a program record...GW has made at least one three-pointer in 83 consecutive games...The Colonials are averaging 1,851 fans per game at the Smith Center this season...The previous record was an average of 1,637 during the 1995-1996 season...The total attendance at GW home games this season is 25,919...That is a program record...Adair needs 25 points to become the 25th player in program history with 1,000 career points...The Colonials are 5-2 on Saturdays, 14-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, and 13-0 when scoring at least 70 points.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off.

Update, 1:57 p.m. - The 4 seniors and the three-year student manager are being honored here for their great work for the GW women's program. It has been a superb four years of basketball but the Colonials with six recruits and talented transfer Yolanda Lavender should have the pieces in place to continue its success under head coach Joe Mckeown. As for this season, the Colonials will look for a strong run in the A-10 tournament to get seeded for the NCAA tournament where they will look to accompish their pre-season goal of making it to the final four. Here are the starting lineups for both squads:

Fordham
G - Megan Mahoney (5-7 freshman from Staten Island, NY)
G - Kristina Bell (5-9 freshman from West Bloomfield, MI)
G - Annie Zopf (5-9 junior from Wexford, PA)
F - Takita Earl (6-1 junior from Elkhart, IN)
C - Kassie Humphries (6-2 junior from Frankton, 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 - Lora Mitchell (6-1 senior from Orem, UT)
C - Jessica Adair (6-4 junior from Washington, DC)

Great to see Lora Mitchell get the start on senior day as she has just scored the first point of the game.

Update, 2:31 p.m. - An 18-0 Colonials run has opened up a 21-5 lead midway through the first, a sluggish start for the Colonials but they have picked up the intensity on both ends of the court. Lora Mitchell is getting some extended time and she earned it scoring the game's first three points. GW will look to put this one away by the half.

Update, 3:03 p.m. - A 31-10 halftime lead for GW who has this game very much in hand. No one in double figures for the Colonials but Jessica Adair had eight points and eight boards controlling the pain. Whitney Allen had six points and seven rebounds as GW held a team to the fewest points allowed in a half this season. Expect to see a lot of reserves and Lora Mitchell in half number two and look for more offense as the Colonials shot just 35% themselves.

Update, 3:46 p.m. - That is a wrap, GW wins 66-27 in a rout that was more about the four graduating players. Stealing the spotlight was Junior Jazmine Adair who scored a career-high 15 points to lead GW. It was a memorable afternoon as Beck, Lawrence and Allen will be remembered for thier superb play throughout their four years at Foggy Bottom. Keep it here as we will be back for coverage from the Cintas Center tonight. So long everyone and thanks for a great women's regular season.

Men at Xavier: College Hoops 2K8 Simulation

2008-02-29T21:31:00.005-05:00

After coming off a hard fought win at home against #7 Rhode Island, #14 GW will look to continute their recent success on the road against Xavier. Xavier has found their way in and out of the top 25 but have played well all season in the Cintas Center. Here are your starting line-ups:

For GW:

G Maureece Rice
F Damian Hollis
F Wynton Witherspoon
F Cheyenne Moore
F Rob Diggs

For Xavier:

G Drew Lavender
G Stanley Burrell
F C.J. Anderson
F Josh Duncan
C Charles Bronson

Led by C.J. Anderson's 23 points, Xavier gives GW their first loss of the conference season. Drew Lavender, who was four for seven from behind the arc, contributed 20 points in this 76-60 Xavier win. Burrell, Duncan, and Bronson each had 9 points. GW saw three players in double figures with Hollis, Moore, and Diggs but couldn't seem to find the answer to match Xavier's hot shooting, who was 64 percent from the field. This should negate the win earlier in the week against Rhode Island for GW's hopes to move into the top 10.

Wednesday roundup: Good times roll

2008-02-28T11:46:00.005-05:00

From the women at Richmond:
-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story and a notebook.
-Alex Goldstick of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The Associated Press story from The Washington Post is here.
-School recaps: GW and Richmond.

From the men vs. Rhode Island:
-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story. Dan Greene has more on Noel Wilmore's impressive performance.
-Jonathan Gaither of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The summary from The Washington Post is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Rhode Island.

On the women's side, Dayton's 68-58 win at Xavier last night means GW would be the #2 seed in the A-10 Tournament if it started today. With the Colonials and the Owls now the only teams with two losses in conference play, Temple would get the top spot by way of the head-to-head tiebreaker. Coach Joe McKeown's squad needs to beat Fordham on Saturday and hope the Owls fall at home to Massachusetts in order to secure the top seed in the conference tournament.

On the men's side, there are now four teams with eight losses in A-10 play: GW, Rhode Island, Fordham, and Dayton (though Rhode Island is 6-8, and the other three are 5-8). If the A-10 Tournament started today, the Colonials would be the #12 seed by way of the three-team tiebreaker, which is a team's record against the other two squads in question (GW is 1-1 against Dayton and Fordham). Amazingly, the Flyers would be left out of the conference tournament if it started today. It is also important to note that Charlotte now has seven losses in A-10 play; the Colonials visit the 49ers next week in a game that could have major conference tournament implications.

Also in The Hatchet, Ms. Shapes writes on the uncertainty surrounding Miles Beatty.

Game 53: Men vs. Rhode Island

2008-02-27T14:01:00.022-05:00

The men's team hosts Rhode Island (20-8, 6-7) tonight at the Smith Center. GW (8-14, 4-8) is coming off of a 59-53 home win over Richmond on Saturday afternoon. In that one, two Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Rob Diggs (20 points, eight rebounds, three steals) and Damian Hollis (16 points, six rebounds). GW trailed by seven at intermission, but Karl Hobbs' squad embarked on a 16-0 run midway through the second half and never looked back. Hollis went a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line, while Cheyenne Moore connected on five freebies at the charity stripe over the final 67 seconds to preserve the win. The Colonials shot 27-31 (87.1%) from the free throw stripe.

The Rams, who were picked to finish second out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 19-14 and lost to GW in the title game of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament. Rhode Island is led by preseason First Team All-A-10 selection 6-8 senior forward Will Daniels (19 points, 6.7 rebounds per game this season), 6-3 junior guard Jimmy Baron (14.3 points, 41.9% shooter from three-point land), the son of head coach Jim Baron, and 6-2 senior guard Parfait Bitee (11.9 points, five assists). The elder Baron is 107-103 in his seventh season at Rhode Island; he is 317-305 in 21 seasons as a head coach.

Rhode Island is coming off of a 90-83 home loss to St. Joseph's on Sunday afternoon. In that one, three Rams reached double figures in scoring: Daniels (24 points, four rebounds), Bitee (19 points), and 6-7 sophomore forward Delroy James (13 points, five rebounds, three steals). However, the Hawks built an 11-point halftime lead and limited the home team to just 7-23 (30.4%) shooting from three-point land. The Rams have lost four-straight games and five out of their last six coming into this one. Before starting A-10 play at 1-2, Rhode Island was ranked in both polls for four-straight weeks, reaching as high as #20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll on January 7. The Rams' biggest win of the season was a 91-89 triumph at Syracuse on December 8. Rhode Island is 4-5 on the road.

This is the 48th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 25-22. The last meeting came in Kingston, RI on January 23, 2008, which the Rams won 81-70. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (17 points, four rebounds), Wynton Witherspoon (10 points, four rebounds), and Noel Wilmore (10 points). The Rams had four players reach double figures in scoring: Baron (17 points), Bitee (14 points, five rebounds, seven assists), Daniels (13 points), and 6-7 senior forward Joe Mbang (13 points, six rebounds). Rhode Island shot 10-22 (45.5%) from three-point land and forced 17 GW turnovers. The Colonials have won six of the last seven meetings in the series, including two-straight and three of the last four at the Smith Center. GW is 12-8 all-time against the Rams at the Smith Center.

While the Colonials have played well at home and this is a crucial game for the team in terms of reaching the A-10 Tournament, the pick here is for Rhode Island to come away with a hard-fought road win.

Paul Marmaro and Max Smith have the call for WRGW with Adam Rosenbloom handling production duties. You can listen to the broadcast here on tape delay following the conclusion of the women's game, which tips-off 30 minutes earlier. I will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.20 p.m.

Game notes: The Colonials control their own destiny in qualifying for the A-10 Tournament...GW is 34-4 in its last 38 home games...The Colonials are 7-3 at home...GW hasn't lost four home games in a season since going 7-4 at the Smith Center during the 2002-2003 campaign...GW is just 3-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 12 different starting lineups through 22 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 34% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Rhode Island is 4-5 since these teams' first meeting this season, while GW is 3-5...Rice is averaging 13.4 points per game in five career meetings with the Rams...Rice needs 24 points to pass Tom Glenn for 27th place in program history...Diggs needs seven points for 700 for his career...Diggs needs six blocks for 100 for his career...GW is 3-3 this month...The only other month where the team was at .500 or better was November (2-2)...The Colonials are 2-6 on Wednesdays, their worst day of the week, 1-10 when allowing 70 points or more, and 2-0 with the starting lineup of Diggs, Hollis, Rice, Johnny Lee, and Xavier Alexander...Those two wins have come in the squad's last two games, at St. Bonaventure and against Richmond...GW is 2-5 coming off of a win...The Colonials are yet to win three-straight this season...GW assistant Roland Houston was a standout at Rhode Island from 1978-1982...Rams assistant Kevin Clark was an assistant at GW from 1995 to 1998.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. Greg Shapiro will be live-blogging, so please check back later.

Update, 7.16 p.m. - Just 15 minutes away from tip and the Smith Center crowd is just beginning to file in. Only the first couple rows of the student section are filled but week day games have seen a late-arriving crowd all season. Starting line-ups and the tip to follow.

Update, 7.28 p.m. - GW has won two in a row in their buff uniforms and they will look to continue that success as they are sporting them again tonight. It will take more than buff unis to counteract the potent shooting of the Rams but that certainly is a start. The crowd showing is weak as we head to the National Anthem but I expect more to file in. Here are your starting line-ups:

Rhode Island
G - Parfait Bitee (6-2 senior from Yaounde, Cameroon)
G - Jimmy Baron (6-3 junior from East Greenwich, RI)
F - Delroy James (6-7 sophomore from Brooklyn, NY)
F - Will Daniels (6-8 senior from Poughkeepsie, NY)
F - Kahiem Seawright (6-8 junior from Uniondale, NY)

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Update, 7.42 p.m. - Sloppy play to start this one. Both teams have opened in a man-to-man defense. GW has done a better job finding open shots. Damian Hollis has been the only source of offense for GW early in this one. He hit the first basket of the game, a three-pointer at the top of the key. The Rams have struggled to connect on the few open shots they have seen. GW leads 3-0 at the first media timeout.

Update, 7.48 p.m. - Here comes the offense. Scores on five of the first six possessions for each team after the time out. Interesting to see a different game plan from GW as nine of their first 11 points have come from 3-point baskets. Three different Rams have scored in this one as GW leads 13-9 heading at the 11:56 mark.

Update, 7.55 p.m. - A battle is developing inside between Rob Diggs and Kahiem Seawright. The Rams have been able to use a man-to-man defense by assigning Seawright the responsibility of Diggs inside. Diggs is scoreless with 2 fouls. He has now checked out of the game. At the 10-minute mark, Hollis has reached double figures with 10 points. He leads all scorers.

Update, 8.01 p.m. - Quick passing has allowed GW to go on a mini 10-4 run over the last 3:30. The Colonials have freed up players on the baseline on several occasions through back screens to get easy lay-ups from Alexander, Hollis, and even Johnny Lee. 23-15 GW with 7:46 remaining.

Update, 8.08 p.m. - A technical foul call on Karl Hobbs has shifted the momentum in this one. Up 25-15, Hobbs got a technical foul call for being outside of the coaching box and Rhode Island has gone on a 6-0 run. 25-21 GW.

Update, 8.12 p.m. - Though the trap has freed up some shooters for Rhode Island, GW has maintained this pressure throughout the majority of the half. It has forced six Ram turnovers, including one that transitioned into a fast-break dunk from Wynton Witherspoon.

Update, 8.16 p.m. - GW has taken the momentum right back with an 8-0 run starting with that Spoon dunk. GW leads 33-21 with 3:31 remaining.

Update, 8.20 p.m. - GW is feeling it from beyond the arc. Noel Wilmore connects on his fourth three-pointer in as many attempts. Even Cheyenne Moore is getting into the act. You won't believe it! As I have been typing Noel connected on his fifth straight three. GW has made 6 straight 3-pointers. I don't know if it's the buff uniforms. I don't know if it's Noel Wilmore. I don't know if it's Chipotle going on GWORLD. I don't know what's going on. But GW is going into the locker rooms with a 49-25 lead over Rhode Island following a 24-4 run.

Update, 8.36 p.m. - Rhode Island coach, Jim Baron, gave his team quite a pep talk at half time. In fact, the Rams were on the court as early as they were allowed to shoot around. The Rams start the second half with the ball and start with a three-pointer from Will Daniels. GW is able to answer right back with two 3's of their own from Johnny Lee and Damian Hollis.

Update, 8.44 p.m. - The Rams connect on a four-point possession, getting the front end on a pair at the line from Jimmy Baron and then getting a 3 from Will Daniels from the corner. Good defense on the other end holds off GW and Daniels hits another 3 to give Rhode Island a 7-0 run.

Update, 8.49 p.m. - After a quick timeout from Karl Hobbs following the Rams' run, GW comes out firing with two unanswered 3's from Wilmore and Hollis. Wilmore's 18 ties a career high and Hollis's 19 is a career high.

Update, 9.17 p.m. - I would like to apologize for the 30-minute delay on updates. The blog shut down for maintenance. Well during this span, the Rams have mounted quite a comeback to make things interesting down the stretch. Rhode Island has outscored GW 33-26 in the second half. GW leads it 75-58 with 3:25 remaining.

Update, 9.21 p.m. - The story throughout the second half has been the foul situation. Rhode Island was able to bring more pressure in the second half but holding back as they only had one team foul in the first 10 minutes. GW has seen the opposite story. Diggs and Alexander both got their fourth fouls with 8 minutes to play and have played tentatively as a result, allowing the Rams to climb back. Time is not on Rhode Island's side as GW now leads it 79-64 with 1:45 to play. Head coach Jim Baron will call off the dogs and GW will run the shot clock down. A Wilmore 3 will seal the deal as GW will win their third straight, their fourth of five, and will keep themselves in the hunt for the right to get back to Atlantic City for the A10 tournament.

Update, 9.31 p.m. - And the final, GW wins it 85-68. An important win at home to win their third straight to head back on the road where they will face Xavier and Charlotte before coming back for senior day against UMASS. We'll be back on Saturday when both squads are in action. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Game 52: Women at Richmond

2008-02-27T13:12:00.006-05:00

The #15/16 women's team travels to Richmond, VA to face Richmond (13-14, 6-6) tonight at the Robins Center. GW (22-5, 10-2) is coming off of a 61-53 win at St. Joseph's on Sunday afternoon. In that one, Jessica Adair was the only Colonial in double figures in scoring with 20 points, four rebounds, and four steals. The Hawks cut the deficit to one on a few occasions in the final minutes, but a pair of back-to-back Antelia Parrish three-pointers put St. Joseph's away for good.

The Spiders, who were picked to finish fifth out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 13-17 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Richmond is led by 5-7 freshman guard Brittani Shells (14 points per game this season), 5-9 junior guard Johanna McKnight (13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds), and preseason Third Team All-A-10 selection 6-0 senior forward Christina Campion (8.1 points, 6.6 rebounds). Coach Michael Shafer is 39-48 in his third season at Richmond.

Richmond is coming off of a 76-67 home loss to Duquesne on Saturday afternoon. In that one, three Spiders reached double figures in scoring: Shells (19 points, seven rebounds), McKnight (16 points, 10 rebounds, five steals), and 6-2 sophomore forward Katie Holzer (12 points, four rebounds). However, the Spiders were outscored by 14 points in the second half, turned the ball over 19 times, and shot just 5-21 (23.8%) from three-point land. Richmond has alternated between wins and losses in its last five games (2-3). The Spiders are 6-5 at the Robins Center this season.

This is the 19th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 16-2. The last meeting came on February 10, 2008 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 78-51. In that one, #14/13 GW had four players reach double figures in scoring: Adair (27 points, four rebounds), Kimberly Beck (18 points, eight assists, three steals), Parrish (12 points, eight rebounds), and Sarah-Jo Lawrence (10 points, eight rebounds, five assists). Shells led the Spiders with 21 points, while 5-10 sophomore guard Danielle Bell added 13 points. The Colonials limited the visitors to just 17-60 (28.3%) shooting from the field. GW has won the last four meetings in the series and is 6-1 all-time at Richmond.

The pick here is for the Colonials to get a tough road win.

Ben Toder and Jordan Teller have the call for WRGW with Scott Trocchia handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m.

Game notes: Lawrence has been named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-America Third Team...She joins Kenan Cole (first team in 2007) and Jennifer Shasky (second team in 1993) as the only Colonials to ever be named national Academic All-Americans...Beck is believed to be the only player in Division I women's basketball history to have at least 1,300 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals, and 60 blocks in her career...Beck is the only A-10 player ever to do so...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...GW has won 24 of its last 26 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 8-3 on the road and 9-4 away from the Smith Center this season...GW has been ranked for 35-straight weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, a program record...GW has made at least one three-pointer in 82 consecutive games...Adair needs 42 points to become the 25th player in program history with 1,000 career points...The Colonials have set a single-season program record with a total attendance of 25,919...McKeown is 15-1 all-time against Richmond and 5-1 against Shafer...Shafer is 1-5 against McKeown and the Colonials...GW is 5-0 on Wednesdays, 13-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, and 12-0 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials are 17-4 coming off of a win...McKnight is the A-10 Co-Player of the Week.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from Robins Center once we get closer to tip-off.

Update, 11.02 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)

Richmond
G - Brittani Shells (5-7 freshman from Camden, DE)
G - Kara Powell (5-7 sophomore from Feeding Hill, MA)
G - Johanna McKnight (5-9 junior from Kenner, LA)
F - Christina Campion (6-0 senior from Hamilton Square, NJ)
C - Crystal Goring (6-3 freshman from Morvant, Trinidad)

A nice 75-59 road win for the Colonials as Lawrence (19 points) and Adair (17 points, five rebounds) lead the way. GW was efficient from the field, shooting 31-55 (56.4%), including 6-14 (42.9%) from three-point land.

GW will look to clinch at least a share of the A-10 title on Senior Day, this Saturday at home against Fordham. We'll be back then. As always, thanks for stopping by.

GW to play at new Nationals park

2008-02-25T23:50:00.002-05:00

As was reported by Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet on our airwaves earlier today, the GW baseball team will face St. Joseph's on March 22 at the new Washington Nationals ballpark. The game will be the first event in the new stadium, which opens to regular season play on March 30 when the Nationals host the Atlanta Braves. The Washington Post has more here.

In WRGW news, we have made inquiries about possibly broadcasting GW baseball games this season. It didn't come together when we tried last year, but hopefully we can make it happen this time around.

Six days at the bottom of the ocean

2008-02-25T13:54:00.003-05:00

The women's team is a #6 seed in the latest edition of Bracketology by Charlie Creme of ESPN. I think the current bracket would present a favorable NCAA Tournament road for the Colonials.

In this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, GW moved up two spots to #15. The Associated Press Poll is released tomorrow.

Weekend roundup: Things are looking up

2008-02-25T10:24:00.003-05:00

From the men vs. Richmond:-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story. Dan Greene writes about fundamentals.
-Max Feinblatt of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The summary from The Washington Post is here.
-The brief from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Richmond.

From the women at St. Joseph's:
-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story. Joanna Shapes mentions the success of the bench.
-Jonathan Gaither of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The summary from The Washington Post is here.
-The brief from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and St. Joseph's.

The men now control their own destiny in the race for a spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament thanks to Xavier's 57-51 win over Dayton yesterday. At 4-8 in conference play, GW is a half-game behind Dayton (5-8) in the standings. However, since the Colonials hold the tiebreaker over the Flyers by virtue of a head-to-head win, Karl Hobbs' squad would get the nod should both teams finish with the same record. It is worth noting that the combined record of Dayton's three remaining opponents is 34-40 (.460), while GW's four remaining opponents have a combined record of 77-32 (.706).

As I mentioned yesterday, the women currently have the inside track to the top seed in the A-10 Tournament as we head into the final week of the regular season.

Game 51: Women at St. Joseph's

2008-02-24T10:52:00.008-05:00

The #17/16 women's team travels to Philadelphia, PA to face St. Joseph's (14-12, 6-5) this afternoon at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. GW (21-5, 9-2) is coming off of an 82-58 home win over Saint Louis on Wednesday night. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Kimberly Beck (23 points, four assists), Sarah-Jo Lawrence (19 points, five assists), and Whitney Allen (17 points, four steals). GW shot 20-30 (66.7%) from the field in the first half and led 52-26 at intermission.

The Hawks, who were picked to finish sixth out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return one starter from the squad that went 19-14 and lost to Coppin State in the opening round of the WNIT. St. Joseph's has two players averaging double figures in scoring: 6-3 freshman center Sarah Acker (12.3 points, 8.7 rebounds per game this season) and 5-8 senior guard Timisha Gomez (10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds). Coach Cindy Griffin is 125-90 in seven seasons with the Hawks; she is 173-123 in 10 seasons as a head coach.

St. Joseph's is coming off of a 63-60 home loss to Temple on Wednesday night. The Hawks led by six with 2.43 to play, but the Owls scored the final nine points of the game to narrowly avoid the upset. In that one, three St. Joseph's players reached double figures in scoring: Gomez (21 points, seven rebounds), 6-3 sophomore forward/center Ashley Logue (10 points), and 6-1 sophomore forward Brittany Ford (10 points, four rebounds). The Hawks are 1-2 against ranked teams this season; they beat #15 Auburn 71-69 on December 29, and lost to #5/6 Rutgers 56-50 on November 28 and to #21/22 Wyoming 66-64 on December 8. St. Joseph's has lost two of its last three games and is 6-5 at home.

This is the 48th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 22-25. The last meeting came in Cincinnati, OH in the semifinals of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament on March 4, 2007, which the Hawks won 57-55. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (15 points, 10 rebounds, three steals), Beck (15 points), and Lawrence (11 points, eight rebounds). However, #8/9 GW blew a 12-point halftime lead and lost in conference play for the first time that season. St. Joseph's is the only A-10 team to hold an edge in head-to-head meetings with the Colonials. GW has won four of the last five meetings in the series. The Colonials have won five-straight at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse and are 11-10 all-time at St. Joseph's.

The pick here is for the Colonials to get a tough road win.

Paul Marmaro and I have the call for WRGW with Steven Smith handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 11.40 a.m.

Game notes: Beck is believed to be the only player in Division I women's basketball history to have at least 1,300 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals, and 60 blocks in her career...Beck is the only A-10 player ever to do so...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...GW has won 23 of its last 25 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 7-3 on the road and 8-4 away from the Smith Center this season...GW has been ranked for 34-straight weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, a program record...The Colonials dropped three spots in both of this week's national polls...GW has made at least one three-pointer in 81 consecutive games...This is the 300th career A-10 regular season game for coach Joe McKeown...McKeown is 21-13 all-time against the Hawks and 6-3 against Griffin...Griffin is 3-6 against McKeown and GW...The Colonials are 4-1 on Sundays, 12-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, and 12-0 when scoring at least 70 points.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse once we get closer to tip-off.

Update, 7.27 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. Joseph's
G - Jenna Loschiavo (5-7 junior from Plymouth Meeting, PA)
G - Mary Kate McDade (5-8 junior from Philadelphia, PA)
G - Timisha Gomez (5-8 senior from Elkridge, MD)
F - Ashley Logue (6-2 sophomore from Philadelphia, PA)
C - Sarah Acker (6-3 freshman from Nanticoke, PA)

Tough 61-53 road win by the women over a pesky Hawks squad. Jessica Adair had a monster outing, pouring in 20 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals. Parrish had a pair of huge back-to-back threes when St. Joseph's threatened in the final minutes, and the Colonials escaped with a road win despite the fact that Lawrence and Beck combined to shoot just 4-19 from the field.

At 10-2 in conference play, the three-way tie atop the A-10 standings between GW, Temple, and Xavier carries into the final week of the regular season. The good news for the Colonials is that if things stay as they are, GW would get the top seed in the conference tournament by way of the tiebreaker procedure: since each of the three teams split its season series with the other two, it then goes to their records against the next-best team in the standings. Dayton and Charlotte are currently tied for fourth; all three teams in the tiebreaker beat Charlotte, but Temple is knocked out when it gets to the Flyers by way of a 62-49 loss on January 12. Therefore, only the Colonials and Musketeers remain, and GW gets the nod because of the head-to-head win on January 13.

Just two games left in the regular season for the women. We'll be back on Wednesday night when they travel to Richmond to face the Spiders. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Game 50: Men vs. Richmond

2008-02-23T00:16:00.015-05:00

The men's team hosts Richmond (14-10, 7-4) tonight at the Smith Center. GW (7-14, 3-8) is coming off of its first road win of the season, an 80-71 triumph at St. Bonaventure on Saturday night. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (17 points), Damian Hollis (17 points, six rebounds), Noel Wilmore (16 points, five rebounds), and Rob Diggs (12 points, five rebounds).

The Spiders, who were picked to finish 12th out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return three starters from the squad that went 8-22 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Richmond is led by a talented trio: 6-9 sophomore forward/center Dan Geriot (13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds per game this season), 6-4 sophomore guard David Gonzalvez (12.2 points), and 5-11 freshman guard Kevin Anderson (9.3 points). Coach Chris Mooney is 35-49 in his third season with the Spiders; he is 53-61 in four seasons as a head coach.

Richmond is coming off of a 79-76 overtime home win over Charlotte on Wednesday night. In that one, three Spiders reached double figures in scoring: Gonzalvez (20 points, four rebounds, five assists), Anderson (19 points), and Geriot (11 points, six rebounds). Richmond was able to win despite the fact that the 49ers shot 28-52 (53.8%) from the field. The Spiders have won two-straight and four of their last five games. Richmond is 5-3 in road games and 6-4 away from the Robins Center.

This is the 81st-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 55-25. The last meeting came on February 21, 2007 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 68-49. In that one, three GW players reached double figures in scoring: Diggs (24 points, six rebounds), Rice (16 points), and Carl Elliott (14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists). Geriot (14 points) and Gonzalvez (11 points) led the Spiders, who were held to just 5-21 (23.8%) shooting from three-point land. GW has won the last five meetings in the series and is 7-4 against Richmond at the Smith Center; the Colonials are 29-6 all-time against the Spiders in games played in Washington, DC.

While Richmond is currently third in the A-10 standings, GW has played well at home this season. The pick here is for coach Karl Hobbs and company to pull off the upset.

Ben Toder and Alex Tainsh have the call for WRGW with Phil Kaminski handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.40 p.m. Our own Greg Shapiro will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 1.50 p.m.

Game notes: GW is 33-4 in its last 37 home games...The Colonials are 6-3 at home...GW hasn't lost four home games in a season since going 7-4 at the Smith Center during the 2002-2003 campaign...GW is just 3-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 12 different starting lineups through 21 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 35% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Rice needs 26 points to pass Tom Glenn for 27th place in program history...Hobbs is 7-5 against Richmond and 4-0 against Mooney...Mooney is 0-4 against GW...Diggs is averaging 9.5 points per game in four career meetings with the Spiders...Rice is averaging 8.3 points per game in six career meetings with the Spiders...GW is 3-4 on Saturdays, 1-10 when allowing 70 points or more, and 1-8 in its last nine games...The Colonials have faced Richmond more than any other A-10 opponent...GW has only faced Georgetown more than the Spiders...The Colonials and the Hoyas have met 96 times.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. Julian Gompertz will be live-blogging, so please check back later.

Update, 1:45 p.m. - Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another edition of Colonials basketball live-blogging. Will keep you posted with lineups and live game action, but the word here at Smith Center is today will be another game with no Miles Beatty. He is nowhere to be found warming up and we will keep you posted on this development.

Update, 1:57 p.m. - Here are your starting lineups:

Richmond
G - Kevin Anderson (5-11 freshman from Duluth, GA)
G - David Gonzalvez (6-4 sophomore from Marietta, GA)
F - Ryan Butler (6-6 sophomore from Richmond, VA)
F - Gaston Moliva (6-7 senior from Yaounde, Cameroon)
F - Dan Geriot (6-9 sophomore from Springfield, PA)

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Just got word from Brad Bower that Miles Beatty has officially been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

Update, 2:16 p.m. - An ugly start for this GW team in what almost becomes a must-win game for a team trying to make the A-10 tournament. Richmond leads 14-4 as GW's zone has given up three 3-pt shots, including two from freshman point-guard Kevin Anderson who went to high-school in the same town (Duluth, GA) as our own Wynton Witherspoon.

Update, 2:27 p.m. - The Colonials are finally getting back to the basics, playing good trap-defense and using Rob Diggs to run the offense. GW has thrown Richmond out of its early offensive rhythm while utilizing Diggs' size inside to score 10 of the 12 Colonial points. Richmond is still up 16-10 with Anderson having eight but GW is coming alive here midway through the first-half.

Update, 2:41 p.m. - GW is hanging around here, but cannot seem to get over the hump. Richmond leads by six, and one of the criticisms of Karl Hobbs has been that he can destroy the confidence of his players. This was made evident when Cheyenne Moore checked in, and then made a great play by saving a rebound that ended up resulting in a Diggs basket. On the next possesion, he threw an errant pass and was taken out immediately.

Update, 3:04 p.m. - At the half, it is Richmond by 7. One of the things to notice is how when GW gets within one or two points, Richmond, twice, has gone on a 5-0 run that has given them a comfortable lead. Rob Diggs had a Dayton-esque first-half with 18 points and a couple of monster dunks for good measure. Problem is no one else has more than two points as he has contributed for over 70% of our offense. Richmond has used 10 from freshman Kevin Anderson and eight from David Gonzalvez to take the lead at the half. More coming as the second-half gets underway.

Update, 3:22 p.m. - Well for one thing, GW is hanging around, but they seem to be trading baskets with Richmond and they will need to defend better if they want to get this much-needed victory against the Spiders. Working in their favor is that at the 11:50 mark, the Colonials will be shooting free-throws for the rest of the game as the Spiders have gotten sloppy and are at 7 team fouls for the half. Rob Diggs has been quiet and scoreless, but Damian Hollis has done a nice job getting inside and he now has eight points.

Update, 3:29 P.M. - 10-0 run and the Colonials take their first lead of the game at 43-40. The Spiders have awoken the sleeping GW fans who are now making noise. Richmond has not had an answer all game for the trap defense and since they hit three 3-pointers to open up the game, they have gone 1-8 from behind the arc. They are also turning the ball over and GW has capitalized on the foul situation, nailing all 6 of the free-throws in the bonus. It is all GW right now and they need to keep the foot on the pedal.

Update, 3:50 p.m. - The Spiders have hung around, as they have begun to employ a similar version of GW's full-court trap. It has taken GW out of its offensive rhythm. GW leads by 5 with three minutes to go and this should be a good finish.

Update, 3:59 p.m. - With 29 seconds left it is GW by three. They have the ball, and have hit 15-16 FT's since going into the bonus with 11:50 to go. Their ability to make their free-throws has been the difference in this game as they have scored 19-31 points in the second half at the charity stripe. Look for the Spiders to foul and GW will have to make its free-throws to close this one out.

Update, 4:04 p.m. - And that will be a wrap. GW did just as they needed to, ending the game by hitting 18-20 free throws from the line and doing the little things right to win down the stretch. GW was led by Rob Diggs' 20 points, though he had just two points in the second half. It was the superb play of Damian Hollis (16 pts) and Cheyenne Moore hitting big free throws down the stretch. A superb overall performance on both offense and defense that now puts GW in a position to control their own destiny and sneak into the A-10 tournament, something that was not a remote possibility just a few weeks ago.

Men vs. Richmond: College Hoops 2K8 Simulation

2008-02-22T19:10:00.004-05:00

Back and ready for more college hoops action. GW is amazing, nothing else needs to be said. Starting Lineups:

For Richmond:
G- David Gonzalves
G-Omar Sylla
F- Gaston Moliva
F- Dan Geriot
F- Conor Smith

For GW:
G- Maureece Rice
G- Wynton Witherspoon
F- Cheyenne Moore
F- Damian Hollis
F- Rob Diggs

And the GW barrage continues as the 14th ranked team wins 82-64 at home against the Spides. Wynton Witherspoon led four Colonials in double-figures with 18 points and while Richmond hung around later than the other teams to face GW recently, they could not contain the Colonials who might breach the top 10 in the coming days. It is truly amazing that our GW team, ranked as a 76 in the game can continue to be so successful in dispatching any team in its path. With a 19-3 record the A-10 tournament is not a question, but the real one remains: How far will this simulated team go in the NCAA Tournament.

Men at St. Bonaventure: College Hoops 2K8 Simulation

2008-02-22T18:35:00.004-05:00

GW is 16th in the country, and they are off to Olean, NY to take on the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure. Again the simulation is not what is actually happening this season, but is a good indication of what GW could be with more trapping and more consistent play. Here are the starting lineups:

For The Bonnies:
G- Malcolm Eleby
G- Tyler Relph
F- D' Lancy Carter
F- Michael Lee
F- Hilary Haley

For GW:
G- Maureece Rice
G- Wynton Witherspoon
F- Cheyenne Moore
F- Damian Hollis
F- Rob Diggs

In another rout, the Colonials defeated the Bonnies 83-55. Balanced effort with Wynton leading the way with 13 points. Mo had 12 and the shock of the game was 10 points off the bench from Peter LaPlante. Yes you read that right Peter Laplante. No Bonnies player had over nine points as GW has moved up to #14. Stay tuned for the Richmond game coming in the next hour.

Saint Louis roundup: Back on track

2008-02-21T12:33:00.003-05:00

-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story. Dan Greene has a feature on Whitney Allen.
-Max Feinblatt of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-Kathy Orton of The Washington Post has the story.
-The Washington Times has a summary.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Saint Louis.

Any team is going to be in good shape when it shoots 66.7% in a half, which GW did over the first 20 minutes last night, going 20-30 from the field. A nice win for coach Joe McKeown's squad coming off of Saturday's setback at St. Bonaventure. Up next for the women is a visit to St. Joseph's on Sunday.

Game 49: Women vs. Saint Louis

2008-02-20T09:39:00.039-05:00

The #17/16 women's team hosts Saint Louis (10-15, 5-5) tonight at the Smith Center. GW (20-5, 8-2) is coming off of a 63-60 loss at St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Sarah-Jo Lawrence (20 points, six rebounds), Kimberly Beck (12 points, five rebounds, seven assists), Jessica Adair (11 points, nine rebounds), and Antelia Parrish (11 points). After trailing by 20 points at intermission, GW rallied to take the lead with 3.23 to play in the second half. However, the Bonnies closed the game on a 7-0 run to pull off the upset.

The Billikens, who were picked to finish ninth out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 13-17 and lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Saint Louis has three players averaging double figures in scoring: preseason Third Team All-A-10 selection 5-9 sophomore guard Theresa Lisch (17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds per game this season), 5-9 sophomore guard Katie Paganelli (12.3 points), and 6-4 sophomore center Amanda Kemezys (10.6 points, 7.9 rebounds). Coach Shimmy Gray-Miller is 30-52 in her third season with the Billikens.
Saint Louis is coming off of a 71-65 home win over Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon. In that one, three Billikens reached double figures in scoring: Paganelli (21 points), Lisch (19 points, four assists), and 5-11 senior forward Heather King (12 points, six rebounds). Saint Louis shot 5-8 (62.5%) from three-point land and forced 22 Massachusetts turnovers. The win over the Minutewomen snapped a two-game losing streak. Seven of the Billikens' 15 losses this season have come to teams currently ranked 200th or lower in the RPI (Hampton, Akron, Tennessee-Martin, Missouri-Kansas City, Texas Pan American, Chicago State, and LaSalle). Saint Louis is just 4-11 on the road.

This is the third-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 2-0. The last meeting came on February 18, 2007 in St. Louis, MO, which the Colonials won 64-47. In that one, three GW players reached double figures in scoring: Beck (16 points, four rebounds, six assists, three steals), Lawrence (16 points, four rebounds, three steals), and Adair (11 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks). Lisch led the Billikens with 14 points, but the Colonials held Saint Louis to just 17-53 (32.1%) shooting from the field. In the only previous meeting at the Smith Center on February 6, 2006, GW triumphed 84-46.

The pick here is for coach Joe McKeown's squad to get back on track tonight.

Adam Rosenbloom and Ben Sugarman have the call for WRGW with Max Smith and Ben Toder handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m.

Game notes: Beck is believed to be the only player in Division I women's basketball history to have at least 1,300 points, 600 assists, 300 rebounds, 200 steals, and 60 blocks in her career...Beck is the only A-10 player ever to do so...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...GW has won 11-straight at home and is 12-1 at the Smith Center...The 11-game home winning streak is the ninth-longest in the nation...The Colonials have won 13-straight home conference games dating back to a 67-63 loss to Richmond on February 19, 2006...The current senior class is 27-1 at the Smith Center in regular season conference games...The current senior class is 52-5 at the Smith Center...Through 13 home games, the average home attendance for the women has been 1,909...This would break the program record of 1,637 from the 1995-1996 season..The current senior class has only lost back-to-back games twice...The first time was in December 2004, as GW lost 64-40 at Oregon on December 4 and 76-70 at BYU on December 6...The second time was in November, as the Colonials fell 80-55 at James Madison on November 27 and 62-61 against UNLV in New Orleans, LA on November 30...GW has won 22 of its last 24 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...Adair needs one block to enter the top five in program history...GW has been ranked for 34-straight weeks in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, a program record...The Colonials dropped three spots in both of this week's national polls...GW has made at least one three-pointer in 80 consecutive games...The Colonials are 2-1 on Tuesdays, 11-0 when holding opponents under 60 points, and 11-0 when scoring at least 70 points...GW is 3-1 coming off of a loss...Saint Louis is 3-15 all-time against ranked teams...The Billikens have lost eight-straight against ranked teams...The last win came over #20 DePaul in overtime by a score of 73-71 on January 24, 2003...Lisch is the sister of Kevin, who is a standout on Saint Louis' men's team.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. Paul Marmaro will be live-blogging tonight, so please check back later.

Update, 6:50 p.m. - Here are tonight's starters:

Saint Louis
G - Hayley Leake (5-6 senior from Silex, MO)
G - Theresa Lisch (5-9 sophomore from Belleville, IL)
G - Katie Paganelli (5-9 sophomore from Cincinnati, OH)
F - Heather King (5-11 senior from Palos Hills, IL)
C - Amanda Kemezys (6-4 sophomore from Fairview Heights, IL)

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, 7:03 p.m. - Starters are being introduced. Your officials tonight will be Dennis DeMayo, Roy Gulbeyan, and Bonnie Pettus.

Update, 7:05 p.m. - GW will be defending the 23rd street basket. The Colonials are in their white uniforms with buff and blue trim while the Billikens are in blue jerseys with white trim. The tip is up and won by GW.

Update, 7:10 p.m. - After two quick baskets by Whitney Allen, Theresa Lisch, sister of SLU men's basketball player Kevin Lisch hit's two straight 3 pointers as they jump out to an 8-6 lead with just over 3 minutes gone by.

Update, 7:13 p.m. - At the first official time out, SLU leads GW 10-8. Both teams are on fire from the field, SLU has not missed going 4-4 while GW is an impressive 4-6. Whitney Allen leads GW with 6 points on 3-3 shooting and Theresa Lisch is leading the way for SLU with 6 points on 2-2 shooting from beyond the arc.

Update, 7:16 p.m. - GW is currently on an 8-0 run in the last 2:00 and SLU coach Shimmy Gray-Miller calls timeout. With 12:43 to go, it's 18-12 GW.

Update, 7:19 p.m. - At the 2nd official timeout, GW has their biggest lead of the game at 8 as they lead 20-12. Whitney Allen is leading the way for GW with 8 points while Theresa Lisch is leading the way for SLU with 6 points.

Update, 7:25 p.m. - On the floor for the Colonials: Beck, Lawrence, Allen, Jazmine Adair, and Jamila Bates, a 6'1 Jr Forward from Seattle, Wa averaging 1.3 ppg. Theresa Lisch just hit a long 2 point jumper breaking a 12-0 GW run. It's now an 18-2 run and with 9:30 to go, it's 28-14 GW.

Update, 7:27 p.m. - Wholesale substitutions for GW as they have Jessica Adair out there with Beck, Bates, Parrish, and Erica Rivera, a 5'8" Fr. guard averaging 1 ppg.

Update, 7:30 p.m. - At the under 8:00 official timeout, GW has built an 11 point lead, 30-19 Colonials with 7:56 to go in the 1st half. The leading scorers for both teams are a combined 9-9 from the field. Lisch has 13 of the team's 19 points on 4-4 shooting, 3-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 from the charity stripe. Whitney Allen has taken Lisch's 4-4 and raised it to 5-5 from the field to lead the Colonials with 10 points.

Update, 7:34 p.m. - GW has been scoring at will, they are 14-18 from the field for an astonishing 78% and now leads 34-24 with 6:26 left. SLU hasn't faired too poorly going 57% or 8-14 from the field.

Update, 7:36 p.m. - After back to back "And 1's" GW is out to their biggest lead of the game at 40-24 with 5:22 to go in the opening half.

Update, 7:41 p.m. - At the last official timeout of the half, it's been all GW, 42-26 with 3:28 to go in the half. Theresa Lisch leads all scorers with 16 points but is no longer perfect from the field unlike GW's leading scorer, Whitney Allen who has 12 points on 6-6 shooting. Sarah-Jo Lawrence has 11 points on 4-5 shooting.

Update, 7:44 p.m. - GW is looking for a 20 point halftime cushion. When they have such a lead at the half, they are 4-1 with a lone loss to UNLV and wins over Loyola Marymount, Brown, Charlotte, and Richmond. It's looking pretty good as the Colonials lead 48-26 with 2:22 left.

Update, 7:47 p.m. - Coach McKeown did not like the offensive set up by his team so he called a timeout with 1:45 to go in the half and whatever he said must have worked as Beck hit a mid-range jumper and the Colonials now lead 50-26 with 1:15 to go. GW is 16-1 when leading at the half.

Update, 7:50 p.m. - The Colonials had their way with the Billikens in the first half as they register their season high in points for any half this year with 52. Their previous season high for a half was 51 against Brown. We're halfway done here at the soon to be renovated Smith Center with a score of 52-26. I'll be back later with some jaw-dropping stats from the first half.

Update, 8:06 p.m. - The 2nd half is underway with the Colonials defending the 22nd street basket and moving from left to right on your computer screen. Like the first half, SLU scores the first basket of the half but still trail by 24, 52-28 just over 1 minute into the half.

Update, 8:10 p.m. - GW leads by 25, 56-31 with just under 17 minutes left in the game. One alarming stat I promised you at halftime but waited because GW has missed a few more, they are 0-9 from beyond the arc and 22-30 from deuce land. That's 0% and 73%.

Update, 8:12 p.m. - At the first official timeout of the half, the Colonials lead by 23, 56-33. Because it is the first official timeout of the 2nd half, it's time for the Pita-Pit dance contest. It's a good one tonight, featuring a nice older woman in a red sweater and an unenthusiastic student. The winner is the old woman and her "twist" has just earned her some free Pitas.

Update 8:16 p.m. - Taking a look at other events going on tonight in the sports world, Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal are making their debuts with their new western conference teams as Kidd joins Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks tonight and Shaq joins Steve Nash and the Suns as they take on who else, but his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Update, 8:19 p.m. - Coach McKeown calls timeout with his team leading 61-33. A few members of the men's basketball team, winners of 2 of 3 are in attendance tonight including Wynton Witherspoon and former player Regis Koundjia. Whitney Allen has a new career high tonight of 17 points.

Update, 8:22 p.m. - At the 2nd official timeout of the half, GW leads 61-37 with 11:56 to go. GW has also set a new attendance record as they have surpassed the 1996-97 season total of 25,344. Good crowd on hand tonight on both sides of the court and it's nice seeing so many students come out to cheer on their top 20 women's basketball team.

Update, 8:28 p.m. - I mean seriously, it's not fair. Tiger Woods is just too good. He was down 3 strokes through 13 holes today to J.B. Holmes in the first round of the Accenture Match Play championship before taking holes #14, 15, 16, and 17, an eagle on the last one, and advancing to the 2nd round. In Foggy Bottom, it's 63-41 Colonials with 9:08 left in the game.

Update, 8:31 p.m. - Whitney Allen and Kimberly Beck are leading the way for GW with 17 points each, with Sarah-Jo Lawrence pitching in 13 points. At the 3rd official timeout, it's 66-41 GW with 7:46 to go.

Update, 8:32 p.m. - The Spurs have traded Francisco Elson, Brent Barry, and a 1st round draft pick (for SA, normally in the late 20's) to Seattle for big man Kurt Thomas. It's the Wild Wild West this year in the Association.

Update, 8:37 p.m. - 39 days until opening day at Nationals Park. It will be the Atlanta Braves and your Washington Nationals on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball.

Update, 8:41 p.m. - Spring training drama brewing in Boston. Would you rather have Coco Crisp starting in Centerfield or Sophomore sensation Jacoby Ellsbury? If Crisp loses the starting job, he said he'll pursue a trade. Nothing new at Smith Center, GW leads 76-52 at the last official timeout. 3:35 to go in this one and the only thing in question is the final score.

Update, 8:43 p.m. - As of right now, GW, Xavier, and Temple are all 8-2 at the top of the A-10 standings, GW will move to 9-2 in 3:35 and hold the tie-breaker over Xavier but do not have it against Temple due to their 2 point loss to the Owls earlier this season.

Update, 8:49 p.m. - Does anyone think Sportscenter's "Greatest Highlight" segment is a sad attempt at turning old stories into new stories? A lot like the failure of "Who's Now", this Greatest Highlight won't solve anything because in the Bay Area, it's Cal/Stanford THE BAND IS ON THE FIELD!!, in Pittsburgh, it's the Immaculate Reception, in Queens, it's Buckner-Wilson. This solves nothing. There's NHL, NBA, College Hoops, NFL combine, and UEFA cup soccer going on right now. Who really cares about Christian Laettner?

Update, 8:50 p.m. - With just over a minute to go, it's 80-58 GW as the Colonials will win their 12th straight home game. GW hasn't lost a home game since the Rutgers debacle.

Update, 8:51 p.m. - It's a final at the Smith Center as the Colonials breeze to an 82-58 victory over the Billikens and at 8:51 eastern time on February 20th, Joe McKeown has won his 503rd game.

Update, 8:58 p.m. - There's a drawing now for the 6th spot in this spring's housing selection for next fall. That's all I have to say. Good night, good luck, and tonight's forecast calls for cold weather so remember to bundle up like Sven.

The kids don't stand a chance?

2008-02-19T17:36:00.005-05:00

On the women's side, GW dropped to #17 in the Associated Press Poll and #16 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll this week.

On the men's side, LaSalle's 90-89 upset of St. Joseph's last night put another dent in GW's chances of qualifying for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. With a very difficult schedule to close the season, it seemed as though the Explorers were the best candidates for the Colonials to catch in the standings. However, LaSalle is now 5-5 in conference play, plus they own the tiebreaker over Karl Hobbs' squad. At 3-8, GW needs to pick off another squad in order to make the trip to Atlantic City. At the moment, there are four teams with six losses: Dayton (5-6), Massachusetts (5-6), Saint Louis (5-6), and Fordham (4-6).

St. Bonaventure roundup: All mixed up

2008-02-17T11:18:00.004-05:00

From the women at St. Bonaventure:
-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story.
-The Associated Press recap from The Washington Post is here.
-The summary from The Washington Times is here.
-School recaps: GW and St. Bonaventure.

From the men at St. Bonaventure:
-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story.
-The summary from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and St. Bonaventure.

Who would have guessed at the beginning of the day that a split in the doubleheader would result in a win for the men and a loss for the women? Even though the Bonnies aren't a bad team by any stretch of the imagination, the Colonials will take a hit in this week's polls. If there's any good news out of Saturday for the women, it's that their RPI stayed at #21 despite the defeat.

For the men, it's still a long road to travel to qualify for the conference tournament. At 3-8 in A-10 play, the Colonials are chasing Fordham (3-6) for the final spot in the A-10 Tournament.

Game 48: Men at St. Bonaventure

2008-02-16T13:52:00.020-05:00

The men's team travels to Olean, NY to face St. Bonaventure (7-16, 1-8) tonight at the Reilly Center. GW (6-14, 2-8) is coming off of a 63-38 loss at Saint Louis on Wednesday night. In that one, Rob Diggs had 14 points, but the Billikens connected on 14 three-pointers, the most by a GW opponent this season. The Colonials were held to just 14-52 (26.9%) shooting from the field, including 3-16 (18.8%) from three-point land.

The Bonnies, who were picked to finish last out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return two starters from the squad that went 7-22 and failed to qualify for the conference tournament. St. Bonaventure is led by 6-9 senior forward Michael Lee (17 points, eight rebounds per game this season), 6-3 senior guard Zarryon Fereti (14.4 points, four rebounds), and 6-0 senior guard Tyler Relph (9.6 points, 3.8 assists). Coach Mark Schmidt is in his first season with the Bonnies; he is 89-106 in seven seasons as a head coach. Schmidt came to Olean, NY after going 82-90 in seven seasons at Robert Morris.

St. Bonaventure is coming off of an 81-56 loss at St. Joseph's on Wednesday night. In that one, Fereti had 15 points, but the Hawks outscored the Bonnies 40-20 in the second half and limited the visitors to just 6-22 (27.3%) shooting from the field after intermission. St. Josephs' outrebounded St. Bonaventure 34-22 and shot 29-50 (58%) from the field for the game. The Bonnies come into this one having lost two-straight and eight of their last nine contests. St. Bonaventure is 5-4 at the Reilly Center this season.

This is the 51st-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 28-22. The last meeting came on January 13, 2007 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 80-63. In that one, four GW players reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (14 points, four rebounds), Regis Koundjia (13 points, six rebounds), Dokun Akingbade (12 points, 11 rebounds), and Cheyenne Moore (10 points). The Colonials went 33-66 (50%) from the field and blocked six St. Bonaventure shots, including three by Diggs. #7/6 GW won the last meeting at the Reilly Center 89-78 on March 1, 2006. The Colonials have won four-straight in the series, but are 8-15 all-time at St. Bonaventure.

GW has yet to win away from the Smith Center. For some reason, I think this is the day, and I am reluctantly picking coach Karl Hobbs' team to keep its fading hopes of qualifying for the conference tournament alive.

Ben Toder and David Earl have the call for WRGW with Chase Carpenter and Sammy Gelfand handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m. Our own Greg Shapiro will join Byron Kerr for the WFED broadcast. You can listen here starting at 6.50 p.m.

Game notes: This is Hobbs' 200th career game as a head coach...All 200 games have come while at GW...St. Bonaventure will retire the number of Essie Hollis, Damian's father, before today's game...Hollis led the Bonnies to the 1977 NIT title in his senior season, and ranks fifth in program history with 1,905 career points...GW has lost all 11 of its games away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 11-19 in their last 30 games away from the Smith Center...The Colonials haven't won a road game in 354 days...The last was a 62-60 triumph at Charlotte on March 1, 2007...GW is just 2-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 11 different starting lineups through 20 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 35% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Over the last three games, Rice has just two points on 1-14 shooting from the field...Rice needs one three to tie Nimbo Hammons for seventh place in program history...Rice needs two threes to tie Dirkk Surles for sixth place in program history...Rice is averaging 10.7 points per game in three career games against the Bonnies...Hobbs is 5-1 against the Bonnies...GW is 1-3 this month, 2-4 on Saturdays, and 0-10 when allowing 70 points or more...The Colonials are 4-9 coming off of a loss...The Bonnies' last win over GW came on February 26, 2003 at the Reilly Center in overtime by a score of 94-89...This game features the teams with the most losses in A-10 conference play.

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

Update, 7.02 p.m. - I was just told by Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet that Miles Beatty has been suspended for today's game because he violated an unspecified team rule.

Update, 7.09 p.m. - St. Bonaventure fans received a warning for throwing confetti onto the court after the Bonnies' first basket. I am told that it is tradition in Olean. Here are the starting lineups:

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
G - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

St. Bonaventure
G - Tyler Relph (6-0 senior from Victor, NY)
G - Zarryon Fereti (6-3 senior from New South Wales, Australia)
F - Tyler Benson (6-7 junior from Morgantown, WV)
F - Michael Lee (6-9 senior from West Palm Beach, FL)
F - D'Lancy Carter (6-10 junior from Houston, TX)

Update, 7.31 p.m. - Already three fouls on Carter with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first half. Matt Morgan, the other matchup problem for the Colonials, has two fouls. The Bonnies appear to have no answer for Diggs in the post. Hollis has 10 points, Diggs has seven points, and Rice has six points on a pair of threes.

Update, 7.38 p.m. - Byron Kerr of WFED just said that Noel Wimore ran a players-only meeting at the hotel today. He has a pair of threes, and the Colonials lead 34-22 with 5.30 left in the first half.

Update, 7.44 p.m. - Assistant coach Greg Collucci just arrived at the Reilly Center; he was on a recruiting trip and was late in returning to Olean.

Update, 7.50 p.m. - GW leads 40-28 at the half. Only four Colonials scored in the first half: Hollis (14 points, four rebounds), Rice (11 points), Diggs (nine points, four rebounds), and Wilmore (six points, three rebounds). This is the first time GW has led at the half of a game away from the Smith Center this season.

Update, 8.14 p.m. - Maybe Wilmore will lead a team meeting before every game from here on in: back-to-back threes give the junior a game-high 15 points on 5-8 shooting from long distance. It's a 52-37 Colonials lead at the first media timeout of the second half.

Update, 8.42 p.m. - Nine unanswered St. Bonaventure points have cut GW's lead to 10 with 3.45 to play. Worth noting that Fordham's win over Massachusetts on Thursday night means that the Rams now lead GW by two games in the loss column in the race for the final spot in the A-10 Tournament. Not only does Fordham hold the tiebreaker over the Colonials, but the Rams still get both LaSalle and St. Bonaventure at home.

Update, 9.12 p.m. - The road losing streak finally comes to an end as GW wins it 80-71. Four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Hollis (17 points, six rebounds), Rice (17 points), Wilmore (16 points, five rebounds), and Diggs (12 points, five rebounds, three blocks). The Bonnies cut it to seven late, but the Colonials hit their free throwns down the stretch to hold on for a rare road win. GW is still alive in the race to qualify for the A-10 Tournament, but they are still two games behind Fordham in the loss column with the Rams also owning the tiebreaker.

The men now have a week off before hosting Richmond on Saturday afternoon. We'll be back on Wednesday when the women host Saint Louis. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Game 47: Women at St. Bonaventure

2008-02-16T12:26:00.011-05:00

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.

Wednesday roundup: Same as it ever was

2008-02-14T15:59:00.003-05:00

From the women at Massachusetts:
-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story.
-Alex Goldstick of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The summary from The Washington Post is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Massachusetts.

From the men at Saint Louis:
-Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet has the story and says the Billikens drew inspiration from the game on January 10.
-Jonathan Gaither of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-The brief from The Washington Post is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Saint Louis.

Impressive win without Kimberly Beck for the women. In other team news, Beck was selected as a nominee for the Nancy Lieberman Award for the second-straight season.

On the men's side, Saturday's game at St. Bonaventure is a must-win if the team wants to qualify for the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The loss to Saint Louis was GW's sixth by 20 or more points this season. In coach Karl Hobbs' first six seasons with the Colonials, the team only suffered 10 losses by that margin.

Breaking news from the athletic department

2008-02-14T12:46:00.004-05:00

University President Steven Knapp announced this morning a $10 million gift to renovate the Charles E. Smith Center. Donated from the Robert H. Smith, the Charles E. Smith Family Foundations, and Robert and Arlene Kogod, this will be the largest single donation in the institution's history. With an additional $15 million that the university plans to raise, the Smith Center will undergo a "transformational renovation" that will take place generally within the "building's existing structure." This marks an important moment for GW's Athletic Department, particularly for men's and women's basketball, to attract a bigger pool of top recruits. Here is the press release:

"SMITH AND KOGOD FAMILIES COMMIT $10 MILLION FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL RENOVATION OF CHARLES E. SMITH CENTER

Gift Represents Largest Single Philanthropic Commitment in GW's History

WASHINGTON - George Washington University President Steven Knapp today announced the largest single donation in the institution's history -- a $10 million gift toward the renovation of the Charles E. Smith Center from the Robert H. Smith and Charles E. Smith Family Foundations and Robert and Arlene Kogod. This lead gift will be instrumental in the transformational renovation of the 32-year-old building, located in the heart of GW's Foggy Bottom Campus.

The university plans to raise an additional $15 million for the renovation. The first $10 million of this goal will meet the one-to-one challenge that is a condition of the Smith-Kogod families' commitment and is designed to encourage others to support this important project.

"The Smith Center has always been a source of pride to our family because it promotes healthy minds and bodies, as well as the spirit of community, which were hallmarks of my father's life and work," said Robert H. Smith, chairman of several Charles E. Smith real estate companies. "This transformational renovation of the Charles E. Smith Center will create a signature building, in both its architecture and function, in the heart of the GW campus. It furthers my father's original vision and speaks to our commitment to GW and its future success."

The proposed renovation will take place generally within the building's existing structure. The university will soon present architectural concepts to GW and community stakeholders and then coordinate reviews and approvals with the appropriate District of Columbia agencies.

"I am deeply appreciative of the Smith and Kogod families for this historic gift to the university," said GW President Steven Knapp. "Their leadership sets a new standard for us and further recognizes the need for world-class facilities at a world-class university. The convergence of academic, athletic, and recreational components in the transformed Smith Center will provide a premier venue for our student-athletes that also will support their academic pursuits. Combined with other uses, the renewed Charles E. Smith Center will enhance the overall GW experience for our entire community." W. Russell Ramsey, chairman of GW's Board of Trustees, B.B.A. '81, added, "This shining example of our new culture of philanthropy will benefit our faculty, students, alumni, and the community. I salute the Smith and Kogod families for this latest substantial investment in our university's future. And I congratulate President Knapp who, within six months of his arrival, has now secured the largest single gift in the history of the institution. Combined with our commitment to affordability, our increased investment in research, and our overall campus plan, we are now out of the starting gate and gaining true momentum. It's a great beginning for the new administration and a tribute to one of GW's most important and beloved families."

The interior upgrades will feature an academic center for student-athletes, improved general admission and club seating in the basketball arena, new locker rooms, remodeled office space to centralize athletic operations including those currently located elsewhere on campus, enhanced athletic training and weight room facilities, and a renovated natatorium (pool area). The exterior concepts include a dynamic new main entrance along 22nd Street, which will present a revitalized box office and concession concourse, and a new VIP entrance along F Street. The project is consistent with the 2007 Foggy Bottom Campus Plan and reinforces 22nd Street as the core of the campus. The renovation project is expected to take three years, during which time the building will remain open without interruption of planned events.

The Charles E. Smith Center was dedicated on December 6, 1975, replacing the "Tin Tabernacle" gymnasium and bringing a much-needed contemporary athletic facility to GW's Foggy Bottom Campus. The building is named for the late Charles E. Smith (1901-95), nationally renowned real estate developer and leader in the Washington, D.C., community. Smith received an Honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from GW in 1979. He served as a GW trustee from 1967 to 1976 and was chairman of the Committee on University Development. His son, Robert H. Smith, is a trustee emeritus who served on the board in 1976 and again from 1978 to 1997. David Bruce Smith, B.A. '79, son of Robert H. and grandson of Charles E. Smith, has served as a member of GW's Board of Trustees since 2002.

GW's Charles E. Smith Center, located at 600 22nd Street, NW, houses the Department of Athletics and Recreation, which supports 22 NCAA sports teams, club sports, and recreational sports activities. Many academic programs also conduct classes and support activities in the facility, such as sports medicine, exercise science, and event management. The main arena seats 5,000 spectators and features the home games of GW men's and women's basketball. In addition student-athletes, alumni, and members of the president's club, including faculty, staff, and Foggy Bottom residents, are able to participate in recreational and fitness activities. Also, many special events are held in the Charles E. Smith Center, including most recently the inauguration of President Steven Knapp in 2007. Other activities include annual graduation celebrations for several of GW's schools, as well as musical and comedic performances. Recent appearances have been made by Billy Crystal, the Boston Pops, Ray Charles, Bill Cosby, and Whoopi Goldberg.

Located four blocks from the White House, The George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the nation's capital. The university offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business, and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 130 countries."

Game 46: Men at Saint Louis

2008-02-13T01:20:00.002-05:00

The men's team travels to St. Louis, MO to face Saint Louis (13-10, 4-5) tonight at the Scottrade Center. GW (6-13, 2-7) is coming off of a thrilling last-second 57-54 upset of Dayton at the Smith Center on Saturday night. In that one, Wynton Witherspoon's game-winning three-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining snapped the Colonials' seven-game losing streak. Rob Diggs led GW with 29 points and 11 rebounds, while Witherspoon added 19 points and seven rebounds.

The Billikens, who were picked to finish fifth out of 14 teams in the A-10, return four starters from the squad that went 20-13 and lost to GW in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Saint Louis is led by 6-2 junior guard Kevin Lisch (14 points per game this season) and 6-4 junior guard Tommie Liddell (12 points, 4.2 rebounds), both of whom were preseason All-A-10 Second Team selections, and 6-5 senior forward Luke Meyer (9.1 points, 5.2 rebounds). Coach Rick Majerus is in his first season with Saint Louis, having previously headed the programs at Marquette, Ball State, and Utah. With the Utes, Majerus reached the Sweet 16 four times (1991, 1996-1998), the Elite Eight twice (1997-1998), and the national championship game once (1998). He is 435-157 in 21 seasons as a head coach.

Saint Louis is coming off of a 64-55 win at Richmond on Sunday afternoon. In that one, four Billikens reached double figures in scoring: Lisch (14 points, eight rebounds), 6-4 senior guard Danny Brown (14 points, five rebounds), Liddell (12 points, five rebounds), and 6-7 junior forward Barry Eberhardt (10 points, seven rebounds). Saint Louis outrebounded the Spiders 41-27 and shot 19-22 (86.4%) from the free throw line. The Billikens have alternated wins and losses in their last eight games (4-4), and have lost five of their last nine. Saint Louis is 9-4 at home this season.

This is the fifth-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 3-1. The last meeting came on January 10 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 49-20. Saint Louis' 20 points were and still are the fewest a team has scored in a Division I game since the shot clock was introduced in 1985. In that one, two GW players reached double figures in scoring: Damian Hollis (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Maureece Rice (12 points, five rebounds). The Colonials held Saint Louis to just seven points in the first half, while blocking a season-high 11 shots, including five by Diggs. The Billikens missed 23-straight shots at one point, and finished the game at 7-48 (14.6%) shooting from the field and 1-19 (5.3%) from three-point land. Saint Louis won the only previous meeting at the Scottrade Center 63-53 on February 3, 2007.

Saint Louis will undoubtedly want to extract revenge for being showcased on ESPN and numerous publications following the game on January 10. The fact that GW has yet to win a game away from the Smith Center doesn't help the Colonials' cause. The pick here is for the Billikens to come away with a victory.

Adam Rosenbloom and Paul Marmaro have the call for WRGW with Alex Tainsh handling production duties. You can listen here following the conclusion of the women's game, which tips off an hour earlier than this one; the men's game will be picked up live once the women's contest is over. I will join Byron Kerr for the WFED broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.50 p.m.

Game notes: GW has lost all 10 of its games away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 11-18 in their last 29 games away from the Smith Center...GW is just 2-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 11 different starting lineups through 19 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 35% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...Diggs is averaging 20.3 points per game over the last four contests...In GW's last two games, Rice has combined to score no points on 0-10 shooting from the field...In the last two meetings in this series, GW has limited Saint Louis to an average of 30 points per game...The Billikens are averaging only 48.6 points per game in the four contests between these programs...Rice needs two points to pass Vaughn Jones for 28th place in program history...Rice needs two threes to tie Dirkk Surles for sixth place in program history...Rice needs one three to tie Nimbo Hammons for seventh place in program history...Rice is averaging 14 points per game in four career meetings with the Billikens...GW is 1-2 this month and 0-10 when allowing 70 points or more...The Colonials have lost more games on Wednesday than any other day this season (2-5)...GW is 1-4 coming off of a win...The Colonials' only back-to-back wins of the season came in the team's first two games...Those wins were at home against Mount St. Mary's (November 10) and Boston University (November 14)...Four of Saint Louis' likely starters are left-handed...Lisch is the reigning A-10 Player of the Week...This is the Billikens' final season at the Scottrade Center...The program will move to a new on-campus arena next year.

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

Update, 11.49 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)
C - Joseph Katuka (6-10 freshman from Zaria, Nigeria)

Saint Louis
G - Dwayne Polk (5-9 senior from St. Louis, MO)
G - Kevin Lisch (6-2 junior from Belleville, IL)
G - Tommie Liddell (6-5 junior from East St. Louis, IL)
F - Luke Meyer (6-5 senior from New Haven, MO)
C - Bryce Husak (7-0 senior from Mt. Vernon, IA)

It has now been 351 days since the Colonials last won a road game, as Saint Louis held a double-digit lead for more than 26 minutes in this one. Despite scoring only six points in the paint, the Billikens hit 14 threes, the most by a GW opponent this season. The Colonials shot just 14-52 (26.9%) from the field, and Diggs was the only visitor in double figures in scoring with 14 points.

We'll be back on Saturday when the men and women visit St. Bonaventure. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Game 45: Women at Massachusetts

2008-02-13T01:15:00.004-05:00

The #14/13 women's team travels to Amherst, MA to face Massachusetts (11-12, 3-5) tonight at the Mullins Center. GW (19-4, 7-1) is coming off of a 78-51 home victory over Richmond on Sunday afternoon. In that one, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (27 points, four rebounds), Kimberly Beck (18 points, eight assists), Antelia Parrish (12 points, eight rebounds), and Sarah-Jo Lawrence (10 points, eight rebounds, five assists). GW held Richmond to just 16 points on 6-28 (21.4) shooting from the field in the first half. The Colonials come in having won five-straight and 14 out of their last 15 games.

The Minutewomen, who were picked to finish seventh out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 17-13 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Massachusetts is led by two players averaging double figures in scoring: preseason Second Team All-A-10 selection 6-1 senior forward Kate Mills (18.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, two blocks per game this season) and 5-10 senior guard/forward Pam Rosanio (15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds). Coach Marnie Dacko is 73-93 in her sixth season with the Minutewomen; she is 153-197 in her 13th season as a head coach.

Massachusetts is coming off of a 75-64 loss at Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon. In that one, Mills had 24 points and five rebounds, but the Minutewomen allowed the Rams to shoot 27-49 (55.1%) from the field. Massachusetts has alternated between wins and losses over their last seven games (3-4), and is 9-2 at the Mullins Center.

This is the 40th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 31-8. The last meeting came on January 14, 2007 at the Smith Center, which the Colonials won 61-48. In that one, three GW players reached double figures in scoring: Kenan Cole (19 points), Adair (13 points, nine rebounds, two blocks), and Jazmine Adair (11 points, six rebounds). Mills had 17 points and five rebounds for the Minutewomen, but her team shot just 2-16 (12.5%) from behind the three-point line in the loss. In the last meeting in the series at the Mullins Center on January 22, 2006, Massachusetts won 55-53. GW has won four of the last five meetings with the Minutewomen and is 10-8 at Amherst.

Coach Joe McKeown's squad has been playing extremely well over its last five games. Expect the Colonials to come away with a road win tonight.

Jordan Teller and Varun Saxena have the call for WRGW with Steven Smith handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 6.40 p.m.

Game notes: A victory tonight would give GW 20 wins...It would mark the ninth-straight 20-win season and the 17th time in the last 18 years for the Colonials...GW is 6-2 on the road and 7-3 away from the Smith Center this season...The Colonials are 29-3 in A-10 play and 58-12 overall since the loss at Massachusetts in January 2006...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...Whitney Allen needs five blocks to enter the top five in program history...Jessica Adair needs 94 points to become the 25th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points...Adair needs five blocks to pass Carol Byrd for sixth place in program history...Beck is averaging 11.3 points per game in three career meetings with the Minutewomen...McKeown is 24-5 against Massachusetts and 4-1 against Dacko...Dacko is 1-4 against McKeown and the Colonials...GW has hit at least one three-pointer in 78 consecutive games...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 been ranked for 33-straight weeks in the Coaches' Poll, a school record...GW is 2-0 this month, 3-0 on Wednesdays, and 11-0 when scoring at least 70 points...Massachusetts' 17-13 record last season marked its first winning season in eight years...Mills has scored 20 or more points eight times this season.

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

Update, 6.57 p.m. - There will be no women's broadcast on WRGW tonight. The poor weather in the northeast resulted in two of our broadcasters' flights being cancelled, but the crew was still able to arrive in Boston at a reasonable time. However, the airline lost all of the broadcasting equipment.

I have been told that you can watch the game at the GW Athletic Department website, which can be accessed here. If you want to listen to the game, you can hear Massachusetts' broadcast here.

Once again, we are extremely sorry that we will not be able to offer a women's broadcast tonight. I can assure you that we did everything in our power to try and get our broadcasters to Amherst, but mother nature and shoddy airline work has foiled our efforts.

Update, 11.57 p.m. - Here were the starting lineups:

GW
G - Erica Rivera (5-8 freshman from Elizabeth City, NC)
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)

Massachusetts
G - Sakera Young (5-7 junior from Glassboro, NJ)
G - Pam Rosanio (5-10 senior from Southampton, PA)
F - Stepfanie Gerardot (5-10 junior from Fort Wayne, IN)
F - Kate Mills (6-1 senior from Elkton, MD)
C - Whitney McDonald (6-2 senior from Ossining, NY)

A nice win for the Colonials without Beck, who missed a game for the first time in her four-year career due to an illness. Four GW players reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (14 points, seven rebounds), Allen (13 points, 11 rebounds), Lawrence (12 points, four rebounds, five assists), and Jazmine Adair (11 points). The Colonials outrebounded the Minutewomen 43-26 and limited the home team to just 16-51 (31.4%) shooting from the field.

That's all for tonight. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Men at Saint Louis: College Hoops 2K8 simulation

2008-02-12T21:44:00.002-05:00

GW has been on a tear this season...in College Hoops 2K8 and as we wind down to the A-10 tournament. GW ranked in the top 20 will face Saint Louis tonight in a big road game in conference play. Starting Lineups and live-action to come:

For Saint Louis-
G - Kevin Lisch
G - Tommie Liddell
G - Dwayne Polk
F - Bryce Husak
F - Barry Eberhardt

For GW-
G - Maureece Rice
G - Damian Hollis
F - Wynton Witherspoon
F - Cheyenne Moore
F - Rob Diggs

After a tight first-half the Colonials pulled away in the 2nd half with a 79-60 victory. It was the interior game for the Colonials that had the Billikens undone and the GW team now sits at 17-3 and will most likely earn a top spot and first-round by in Atlantic City. It gets worse each game as to how unlike the real Colonials are from this video-game simulation but again Julian and Greg switched so it is not simply who is more talented. Scary but true.

Richmond roundup: Truckin'

2008-02-11T09:51:00.000-05:00

-Alex Byers of The Hatchet has the story.
-Evan Waxman of The Daily Colonial has the recap.
-Kathy Orton of The Washington Post has the story.
-The recap from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press summary is here.
-School recaps: GW and Richmond.

On the men's side, Joanna Shapes of The Hatchet says that the Colonials are still in the running for recruit Wesley Witherspoon. Ms. Shapes also has an article on the nine new inductees to the GW Hall of Fame.

Elsewhere, congratulations to the club hockey team, which scored a big win over Catholic on Friday night at the Verizon Center.

Game 44: Women vs. Richmond

2008-02-10T04:19:00.001-05:00

The #14/13 women's team hosts Richmond (11-11, 4-3) at the Smith Center this afternoon. GW (18-4, 6-1) is coming off of a 73-65 win at Duquesne last Saturday. In that one, which was coach Joe McKeown's 500th career victory, four Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Kimberly Beck (19 points, five rebounds, five assists), Jessica Adair (17 points, five rebounds), Antelia Parrish (14 points, six rebounds), and Whitney Allen (15 points, eight rebounds). GW held the Dukes to 6-23 (26.1%) shooting from the field in the first half. The Colonials have won four-straight coming into this one.

The Spiders, who were picked to finish fifth out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 13-17 and lost in the opening round of the conference tournament. Richmond is led by preseason Third Team All-A-10 selection 6-0 senior forward Christina Campion (10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds per game this season). The Spiders have also received strong performances from 5-9 junior guard Johanna McKnight (8.5 points, 4.4 rebounds) and 5-7 sophomore guard Kara Powell (8.1 points, 3.2 assists). Coach Michael Shafer is 37-45 in his third season at Richmond. The Spiders lead the A-10 in three-point field goal shooting (36.9%). However, Richmond ranks last in the conference in defensive three-point field goal percentage (36.3%) and free throw shooting (61.6%).

Richmond is coming off of a 62-48 win at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night. In that one, three Spiders reached double figures in scoring: 5-7 freshman guard Brittani Shells (18 points, five rebounds), McKnight (12 points, five rebounds, five assists), and 6-3 freshman forward/center Crystal Goring (12 points, seven rebounds). Richmond shot 29-55 (52.7%) from the field against the Bonnies. The Spiders have won their last two games after going 2-6 in the previous eight outings, and are 6-8 on the road.

This is the 18th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 15-2. The last meeting came on February 3, 2007 in Richmond, VA, which the Colonials won 72-53. In that one, #11/12 GW had three players reach double figures in scoring: Adair (17 points, five rebounds), Beck (16 points), and Sarah-Jo Lawrence (15 points, 11 rebounds). McKnight led the Spiders with 10 points, while Campion added nine points. GW has won three-straight in the series and is 7-1 against Richmond all-time at the Smith Center.

On a day when McKeown will be honored for career victory #500, the pick here is for Beck and company to earn him #501.

Chase Carpenter and Scott Trocchia have the call for WRGW with Greg Shapiro and Ben Toder handling production duties. You can listen here starting at 1.40 p.m.

Game notes: Today marks the program's first-ever Pink Out...Fans, players, coaches, and staff members are encouraged to wear pink to raise awareness for breast cancer research...Proceeds from this contest will go to support the GW Cancer Institute...GW has won 10-straight at home and is 11-1 at the Smith Center...The Colonials have won 12-straight home conference games dating back to a 67-63 loss to Richmond on February 19, 2006...The current senior class is 26-1 at the Smith Center in regular season conference games...The current senior class is 51-5 at the Smith Center...Through 12 home games, the average home attendance for the women has been 1,834...This would break the program record of 1,637 from the 1995-1996 season...Allen needs six blocks to enter the top five in program history...Beck is averaging 12.3 points per game in eight career meetings with Richmond...GW moved up two spots to #14 in this week's Associated Press Poll...The Colonials remained at #13 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll...GW has been ranked for 32-straight weeks, a program record...The Colonials are 3-1 on Sundays and 10-0 when scoring at least 70 points.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. I will be reporting live all afternoon, so please check back later.

Update, 12.47 p.m. - They just previewed the McKeown tribute video that they'll be playing later. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who is coming, but there are some pretty cool appearances, especially the last one. Props to whoever was responsible for putting it together; it's probably the best video production I've seen in my time here.

Update, 1.43 p.m. - Here are the starting lineups:

Richmond
G - Brittani Shells (5-7 freshman from Camden, DE)
G - Kara Powell (5-7 sophomore from Feeding Hill, MA)
G - Johanna McKnight (5-9 junior from Kenner, LA)
F - Christina Campion (6-0 senior from Hamilton Square, NJ)
C - Crystal Goring (6-3 freshman from Morvant, Trinidad)

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, 2.03 p.m. - McKeown was just awarded a ball by Athletic Director Jack Kvancz in honor of his 500th career victory. There's no doubt McKeown has earned the admiration of all of his players, as each sported a huge smile during the presentation. Now it's time to focus on basketball.

Update, 2.08 p.m. - Even today's officials are getting into the act, as all three are sporting pink whistles. Fun fact: McKeown's 105th career victory was a 73-62 win over Richmond on March 13, 1991. Why was that game significant? It was the Colonials' first-ever NCAA Tournament victory.

Update, 2.14 p.m. - GW up 9-5 with 15.35 left in the first half. Right now the Colonials are getting it done with defense, as seven of their nine points have come off of Richmond turnovers. Nice to see Allen knock down a long jumper; she's struggled with her outside shot ever since breaking a finger against Rutgers in mid-November.

Update, 2.22 p.m. - Very physical game on both ends of the court thus far. There was a tie-up between Allen and Campion, and the result was the full weight of Campion's body landing on Allen's legs. The senior from Woodbridge, VA was not happy, and she responded by making contact with Campion a few times before she walked away. For my money, Allen is the most interesting Colonial to watch on the court: she takes defense personally, and she's all intensity regardless of the score. While Beck and Lawrence get most of the attention on this squad, don't forget the 'junkyard dog,' the defensive stopper who usually gets the toughest assignment.

Update, 2.30 p.m. - 19-11 Colonials with 8.47 left in the first half. GW has played a solid first half, but it feels like they should be up by more, as the Spiders haven't been able to get anything going on the offensive end. McKeown has not been happy with his team's transition defense on a few occasions thus far.

Update, 2.34 p.m. - With 7.44 left in the first half, the Spiders are shooting just 4-20 (20%) from the field. GW's 'blizzard' matchup zone is as suffocating as it's been all season. Richmond has 11 points to go along with its 11 turnovers. Points = turnovers is not a winning basketball formula.

Update, 2.38 p.m. - Beck just got the back of her head stepped on after she fell to the floor following a missed lay-up attempt. I don't think you will find anyone who has more toughness per inch (she's listed at 5-8) than Beck; she routinely absorbs numerous hard hits during each outing, but she has never missed a game in her four-year career.

Update, 2.46 p.m. - At the beginning of the season some of us wondered where the killer instinct had gone with this team. Well, there's no doubt that it's back, as GW is pouring it on here as we approach halftime. Even with a 16-point lead the pressure defense is still relentlessly swarming every Spider who touches the ball. Allen just made knee-to-knee contact with a Richmond player and is limping back up the court. We'll keep an eye on her.

Update, 2.54 p.m. - 39-16 GW at intermission. The Spiders are shooting 6-28 (21.4%) from the field and have 16 turnovers to go along with their 16 points. Beck has 14 points and four assists to pace the Colonials, while Adair has 12 points.

Update, 3.11 p.m. - They showed the McKeown tribute video at halftime. The special guest I referred to earlier was ESPN's Dick Vitale. Nice of Dickie V to offer some kind words about McKeown. I found out during intermission that the Athletic Department was responsible for contacting Vitale and putting the video together, so props to them.

Update, 3.26 p.m. - Neglected to mention earlier that both teams are wearing pink shoelaces. In addition, almost every Colonial is wearing a pink headband, and about half of the squad is sporting pink socks. It's 55-31 Colonials with 13.15 left to play in the second half. GW leads in points off turnovers 23-10 and points in the paint 26-8.

Update, 3.30 p.m. - After Shells hit a three-pointer to give her 16 points, McKeown asked his players to matchup on defense. Immediately, Allen said, "I've got (number) 20." That's why you have to love the junkyard dog if you're a GW fan. On the next play, Shells tried a backdoor cut, which Allen read immediately. The result was a turnover. While Allen doesn't fill up the box score each night, don't underestimate her importance to this team.

Update, 3.38 p.m. - Richmond has gone on a little bit of a run in the last few minutes, cutting the deficit down to 18 points. McKeown is not happy with his team's defense, as the Colonials are getting beaten in one-on-one situations.

Update, 3.41 p.m. - McKnight has fouled out for Richmond. Adair has 20 points, Beck has 18 points and eight assists, while Parrish has 10 points and seven rebounds.

Update, 3.45 p.m. - The scoreboard (or whoever is behind what appears on it) just noted that GW has won at least 10 home games in each of the last 18 seasons. Pretty impressive stuff.

Update, 3.48 p.m. - Things are getting touchy here as Adair took a shot to the face on one end of the court. Soon after, four Spiders landed on Allen as she corralled a loose ball on the other end. A pair of Adair free throws gives GW the magical number of 70 points; the Colonials are 10-0 when reaching that figure this season.

Update, 3.54 p.m. - Adair is 11-12 from the charity stripe this afternoon. Pretty impressive considering she was a career 64.9% shooter from the free throw line coming into this one.

Update, 4.02 p.m. - Jazmine Adair fouls out with no points on 0-3 shooting from the field and two rebounds. Jazmine's inconsistency has to drive the coaching staff crazy; there are times when she looks like the All-American McKeown thinks she can be, and then there are performances like today's. It is a 75-48 GW lead with 1.31 to play as blog favorite Lora Mitchell checks into the game.

Update, 4.08 p.m. - Well, that'll do it. GW wins this one easily, 78-51. The Colonials never trailed, as four of McKeown's players reached double figures in scoring: Jessica Adair (27 points, four rebounds), two off her career high of 29 points set here on November 14 against Kentucky, Beck (18 points, eight assists), Parrish (12 points, eight rebounds), and Lawrence (10 points, eight rebounds, five assists).

Dayton roundup: Eighth time's the charm

2008-02-10T03:59:00.000-05:00

-Dan Greene of The Hatchet has the story.
-The summary from The Washington Post is here.
-The wordy summary from The Washington Times is here.
-The Associated Press story is here.
-School recaps: GW and Dayton.

Not much else you can say about this one. A great last-second win by the Colonials puts them back in the picture for qualifying for the A-10 Tournament. Can they get a road win on Wednesday? You know Saint Louis will be looking for revenge after only putting up 20 points at the Smith Center last month.

Nice to see Rice and Diggs get a little love on ESPN. As bad as this season has been for the Colonials, there have been a few extremely memorable moments. Tonight's performance has to be near or at the top of that list.