George Washington University Athletics
Colonials Gear Up for Nationally Ranked Eagles
12/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2004
WASHINGTON, DC - The Colonials (6-3) will take on their third ranked opponent of the young season when they clash with Big East foe #14/16 Boston College (8-1) on Thursday, Dec. 30 at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA.
GW is riding a three-game winning streak, including a 65-56 decision versus NC State in its most recent outing on Dec. 21. Senior Anna Montañana paced the Colonials with 20 points against the Wolfpack and is rapidly approaching the 1,000 career-point mark. She has 940. Sophomore Kristina Gineitis made her first-ever start in the contest and contributed four points, while classmate Corinne Tuner set season highs in points (7) and rebounds (5) versus the Wolfpack.
Montañana leads the team and is tied for third in the A-10 in scoring at 15.9 points per outing. She also ranks in the top 15 in the conference in seven other statistical categories.
The Colonials knocked down four more three's agains t NC State and lead the league in three-point shooting percentage, raining treys at a .357 clip (35-of-98).
Boston College is ranked 14th in the latest Associated Press women's basketball poll and stands at No. 16 in the most recent USA Today/ESPN rankings. The Eagles are 8-1 and have won seven straight since falling in overtime to Michigan State on Nov. 21 in the Spartan Classic.
BC, the reigning Big East Tournament champions, are coached by Cathy Inglese who is in her 12th season with the club. Earlier this year, she elipsed the 200-win mark at the school an now has 206 triumphs as head coach of the Eagles.
Preseason All-Big East selection Jessalyn Deveny leads the Eagles in scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.2). Brooke Queenan (12.6 ppg) and Kathrin Ress (10.8 ppg) are also scoring in double figures for the squad, and four of BC's five starters are averaging five-or-more rebounds per outing.
The Eagles have been on fire from the field through their first nine games, making over 50 percent of their field goal attempts (258-of-513, .503). They are also outscoring their opponents by 21.4 points per game (74.3 ppg to 52.9 ppg) this season.
Thursday's meeting will be the third for the two schools with GW owning a 2-0 lead in the all-time series. The two previous pairings were decided by a total of four points. The Colonials defeated BC in 1995 at the Lady Gator Classic, 70-67, and pulled off a 76-75 overtime win at the Smith Center last season. In last year's contest , the Eagles overcame a 13-point second-half deficit and tied the game on a Deveny basket with one second left in regulation, but Marsheik Witherspoon scored with 13 seconds to play in OT to give GW the triumph.
Fans can listen to the game live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
