George Washington University Athletics
Women's Hoopsters Find Groove, Rout Fordham, 87-41
1/30/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Colonials Win 16th Consecutive Home Game
WASHINGTON, DC (Jan. 30) -- All-American guard Elisa Aguilar led five players in double figures as George Washington routed Fordham, 87-41, this afternoon in Smith Center.
The victory marked the 16th consecutive home victory for the Colonials, who have not lost in Smith Center since Jan. 10, 1999, as GW improved to 16-3, 7-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Aguilar was the story of the game early on as she tallied 15 points on 6-8 shooting in just nine minutes in the first half as GW established a comfortable cushion. Aguilar also dished out seven assists.
"I was really proud of (Elisa) Aguilar today," said GW head coach Joe McKeown. "She played like an all-American today, and she has been the last month or so. I'm excited that she's starting to hit her stride now."
In addition to Aguilar's 17 points, freshman forward Erica Lawrence tallied 16 points on 8-10 shooting from the field. Junior center Leslie Carlson scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Junior forward Petra Dubovcova scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting. Senior forward Starr Jefferson was perfect from the field (4-4) as she tallied 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
GW jumped all over Fordham (3-16, 2-6) from the opening tip and grabbed a 22-1 lead on a Lawrence layup with 13:16 remaining in the first half. Fordham scored their first field goal of the game when Chelsea Keegan made a layup with 12:58 left in the first half. GW led by as much as 44-8 with 3:14 remaining in the first half before holding a 44-16 advantage at halftime.
The second half proved to be no better than the first for Fordham as GW scored the first 14 points of the half to take a 58-16 lead on a Dubovcova layup with 15:06 remaining in the game. Corrin Reid's layup with 17 seconds remaining gave the Colonials their largest lead of the afternoon with the 87-41 final tally.
"I thought we played crisply today, and we really moved the basketball," said McKeown. "Our execution was were we'd really like it to be as we head into February. We were very unselfish today and people were finishing, so it's very exciting for me as a coach to see that, because it show's that we're getting better. And that's my main concern, that we get better each game."
Fordham recorded just five field goals in the first half as the Rams shot a miserable 16.1% (5-31) from the field, and managed just 27.3% (15-55) for the game. The shooting percentage was a season-low by a GW opponent. The Rams 41 points was a season-low for a GW opponent this season.
GW, on the other hand, shot a season-high 60.3% (38-63) for the game, just 4% shy of a school record. The Colonials were 8-12 (66.7%) from three-point range, also a season-high. GW dished out 30 assists, led by Aguilar's seven and freshman Lindsey Davidson's career-high seven. The assist production was two shy of the school record of 32 set earlier this season against Seton Hall.
The Colonials once again displayed a tenacious, smothering defense against their opponent. GW swiped 20 steals from Fordham and forced 29 Ram turnovers.
George Washington returns to action Wednesday night when Virginia Tech visits Smith Center for a 7:00pm contest.
