George Washington University Athletics
Colonials Take on Top Team in the Land
11/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington (2-0) will take on one of the elite teams in women's college basketball when they play at consensus No. 1 Tennessee (2-0) on Tuesday, Nov. 23. It marks the third time in program history the Colonials have battled a team ranked No. 1 in the nation.
GW has never won a game versus a top-ranked team, losing to Tennessee on Dec. 29, 1992 when they were No. 1, and falling to Connecticut when it sat atop the national rankings on Nov. 29, 2000.
Both teams will be playing their third game in the last five days. The Colonials have started 2004-05 with two straight wins, defeating Georgetown on Nov. 19 and beating East Carolina in their home opener on Nov. 21. It marks the first time since 1998-99 that GW has opened the season with consecutive victories.
Senior All-America candidate Anna Montañana leads GW in scoring average at 11. 5 points per game. She ranks second on the squad in rebound average (5.0) and assists (8). Sophomore Kenan Cole has been a pleasant surprise off the bench, averaging 10.0 points during GW's first two games. Cole is only eight points shy of her point total of all last year (28). Freshmen Kimberly Beck and Sarah-Jo Lawrence each started the first two contests for the Colonials and both notched their first double-digit scoring efforts of their careers versus East Carolina. Beck tallied 10 points to go along with six assists and Lawrence recorded 13 markers. Defensively, the Colonials are holding their opponents to 28 percent shooting from the field (34-of-123) and are allowing just 48 points per game.
Tennessee is ranked No. 1 in the both the Associated Press poll and USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll. The Lady Vols are guided by legendary head coach Pat Summitt, who has compiled an 854-167 record in this her 30th season with the club. Tennessee knocked off Chattanooga, 68-34, on Nov. 19 and defeated North Carolina State, 64-54, in the Jimmy V Classic on Nov. 21.
The Lady Vols have been just as stingy on defense as GW has been. They are holding their opponents to 44 points per game and their foes are shooting just 25 percent from the floor (26-of-103). The Lady Vols also own an 11.5 rebounds per game margin over their opponents. Senior Shyra Ely was Tennessee's leading scorer in each of its first two games and is averaging 16.0 points per game.
This is the fourth straight year the two teams have squared off with the Lady Vols winning all three match-ups and holding an 4-0 lead in the series overall.
Fans can listen to the contest live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
