George Washington University Athletics
Women's Basketball Grinds Past Duquesne, 70-51
1/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON, DC (Jan. 6) -- George Washington tallied their ninth-consecutive win of the season with a 70-51 victory over visiting Duquesne tonight in Smith Center as the Colonials improved their record to 11-2, 2-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The victory was the Colonials' 13-consecutive at home.
Freshmen Erica Lawrence and Cathy Joens paced GW with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Junior forward Petra Dubovcova scored 12 points, while senior forward Starr Jefferson tied her career high with 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
LynnDee Howell led Duquesne (3-9, 0-2) with 19 points, and Gina Naccarato scored 10 points.
GW pulled away late in the first half after the teams kept it close in the early going. With the Colonials holding a 25-18 advantage with 6:50 left in the first half, GW rattled off an 11-2 run capped by a Dubovcova trey to grab a 36-20 lead with 4:35 left in the period. Aguilar's jumper with 41 seconds remaining in the half gave GW a 41-23 lead. Naccarato trimmed the GW halftime lead to 41-25 with a pair of free throws with 22 seconds to go in the half.
GW led by as many as 20 points during the second half. Duquesne was able to cut the GW lead to 13 points (64-51) with 1:53 left in the game, but GW scored the final six points to provide the final margin.
"We were sloppy tonight," said GW head coach Joe McKeown. "We were tired. It seemed like we were running in mud half the time. I was pleased with the way we grinded out the win, but I was disappointed with our intensity. I thought our defense was pretty solid though."
GW's defense forced Duquesne into 30 turnovers and held the Dukes to 34.7% (17-49) shooting from the field. Point guard Naccarato commited seven turnovers, as did freshman sensation Beth Friday.
GW all-America point guard Elisa Aguilar dished six assists in a solid display of passing skills. GW tallied 18 assists to Duquesne's seven.
"We're a good passing team, but we need to be a better passing team," said McKeown. "And more importantly, we need to finish. I thought we missed a lot of opportunities inside. We also have to shoot better from the three-point line."
GW senior guard Marlo Egleston entertained her younger sister, Brooke, a freshman guard for Duquesne. The elder Marlo scored seven points, dished four assists and swiped three steals. Brooke failed to score but did pull down a pair of rebounds. On several occasions in the second half, the Egleston sisters found themselves matched-up against each other.
"It was definitely a unique experience," said Marlo. "I tried to play like I didn't know her. The first time I ended up guarding her I was like Oh no, this is going to be interesting.' It was a neat experience. I think I got the best of her though, but she's a freshman and she has plenty of games ahead of her."
"It was weird playing against Marlo, said Brooke. Even just sitting on the bench watching her was weird. I had to guard her a couple times, but I tried not to think about it."
It was the first time the sisters had ever played organized basketball against each another. A charter bus full of fans from the Egleston's hometown of Elkland, Pa., made the five-hour trip to watch the family feud. The Egleston's parents, Mike and Jody, sat at center court. For the record, mother Jody was wearing a GW blue blazer and gold shirt.
The victory was the ninth-consecutive for GW as the Colonials extended their home winning streak to 13 games.
"I think the players just have this chemistry and attitude that you have to beat the team collectively, rather than one or two of us," said McKeown. "We didn't have that chemistry last year. People understand their role right now, and most of the time they're stepping up and playing with a lot of emotion. We're a very good team right now, and we're going to get even better as the season progresses."
GW returns to action Sunday with a 4:00 pm against Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies are the last team to defeat GW in Smith Center, recording a 74-65 win on Jan. 10, 1999.
