George Washington University Athletics
Women's Basketball Powers Past St. Joseph's, 70-67
2/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GW Wins 18th Consecutive Home Game
WASHINGTON, DC (Feb. 6) -- George Washington made five of six free throws in the final 33 seconds of the game as the Colonials defeated St. Joseph's, 70-67, this afternoon in Smith Center. GW (18-3, 9-1) recorded their 18th consecutive home victory with the win. St. Joseph's fell to 18-4, 9-2, with the loss.
GW senior all-America guard Elisa Aguilar scored 16 points on 4-6 shooting from three-point range. Junior guard Kristeena Alexander was 3-6 from three-point range and scored 14 points and dished out seven assists. Junior forward Petra Dubovcova scored 13 points. Senior forward Starr Jefferson recorded her third career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
"I really thought Elisa played extremely well," said GW head coach Joe McKeown. "Her floor game was solid and she scored when she had too. She played smart today. We had a lot of heroes out there. I though Alexander was phenominal. She was all over the floor. The stats don't reflect how good she was. It was her heart and effort. Same with Starr Jefferson. Her 15 rebounds were just pure effort."
With 45 seconds left to play and GW clinging to a 65-64 lead, the Colonials' Marlo Egleston missed a trey attempt from the left wing and St. Joseph's Susan Moran grabbed the rebound. On the other end of the court, Moran missed an 18-foot jumper from the top of the key and GW's Petra Dubovcova grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Moran. Dubovcova sank the two free throws with 31 seconds left to give GW a 67-64 lead.
On the Hawks ensuing possession, Jana Lichnerova drove the lane and was fouled by Dubovcova. Lichnerova missed both free throws and Moran grabbed the rebound, but was whistled for an offensive foul with 18 ticks left in the game.
Alexander was fouled after the inbounds pass and made both free throws, increasing the GW lead to 69-64 with 17 seconds left in the game.
Zampella pushed the ball upcourt for St. Joseph's and hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 12 seconds left to cut he GW lead to 69-67. Zampella then fouled Alexander after the inbounds pass.
Alexander missed the first of two free throws and nailed the second, increasing the GW lead to 70-67 with 11 seconds left. St. Joseph's pushed upcourt and found Lichnerova near the top of the key, but her three-point attempt with four seconds left caromed off the rim. Zampella grabbed the rebound in the lower left corner as the horn sounded.
"I thought it was a great basketball game to watch," said McKeown. "The fans really got their money's worth. It was a real exciting atmosphere. They made great plays, we made great plays. You could see why both teams have the records that they have."
The first half was a close affair after St. Joseph's jumped out to an 11-3 lead early. St. Joseph's took a 33-31 lead into the locker room at intermission.
The Colonials had a serious scare midway through the first half when junior center Leslie Carlson fell awkwardly to the floor fighting for a rebound and St. Joseph's Barbora Kuklova fell on top of her. Carlson grabbed her neck and remained on the floor for five minutes while team medical staff and doctors examined her. Carlson got up slowly under her own power and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for x-rays, which showed no damage. The team medical staff diagnosed the injury as a sprained neck, and Carlson's status is listed as day-to-day.
The Hawks managed to open as much as a five point lead early in the second half when Cheryl Kulesa's free throw gave St. Joseph's a 38-33 advantage with 18:53 to play. GW closed the gap and tied the score at 40-40 on Starr Jefferson's fress throw.
The Hawks took a 46-45 lead when Angela Zampella converted a layup with 12:18 remaining in the game. GW scored the next six points, and took a 51-46 advantage on an Alexander three-pointer with 10:00 remaining.
GW claimed their largest lead of the game when Aguilar hit a trey to give GW a 63-55 lead with 3:42 left to play. After the teams traded jumpers, the Hawks rattled off a 7-0 run and closed the deficit to 65-64 with 1:17 remaining in the game.
Lichnerova led St. Joseph's with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Moran tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, and Zampella scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished seven assists.
The crowd of 3,116 was the second-largest attendance for a game in school history, and was the largest for a regular-season game. The largest crowd was 3,570, who saw the Colonials defeat Northwestern on March 15, 1997, in an NCAA Tournament first round game.
