George Washington University Athletics
Colonials Clash with Dayton and Xavier
1/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 13, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington women's basketball team (9-4, 2-0 Atlantic 10) will play its first two West Division foes in Ohio this weekend. GW will visit Dayton (7-7, 1-2 Atlantic 10) on Friday, Jan. 14 for a 7:00 p.m. tip off and Xavier (8-5, 2-0 Atlantic 10) on Sunday, Jan. 16 for a 12:00 p.m. start.
The Colonials have won both of their league games so far this year and are tied with Richmond and Xavier atop the A-10's West Division.
GW is one of the top defensive teams in the conference, holding their opponents to just 57.1 points per game. It also ranks second in the A-10 in steals at 11.69 per outing. Senior All-America candidate Anna Montañana leads the way with 2.38 thefts per game, second in the A-10, and freshman Kimberly Beck ranks fifth in league at 2.31.
Montañana became the second women's basketball player in school history to record at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 300 assists after scoring 13 points in GW's win against Massachusetts on Jan. 9. She now has 1,002 career points. Coach Joe McKeown also reached an impressive milestone against the Minutewomen, becoming just the second court boss in A-10 history to notch 200 conference wins (Temple men's basketball coach John Chaney is the other).
GW has two players averaging more than 15 points per game in Montañana (15.8) and senior Jessica Simmonds (15.4). Simmonds tallied her fourth double-double of the year with 16 points and a career-best 13 rebounds against Massachusetts.
Dayton broke a three-game losing streak on Jan. 9, beating Saint Joseph's, 78-70. The Flyers are the top rebounding team in the conference. They are averaging 42.9 boards per game and are outrebounding their foes by an average of 6.9 caroms per contest. Emily Williams is the team's top scorer at 11.4 points per game and Cara Wright leads the club in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game.
After starting the campaign 1-3, Xavier has posted victories in seven of its last nine games. The Musketeers are led by Tara Boothe, who ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring average (17.2 ppg) and sixth in the league in rebounding (8.2 rpg). Xavier is also an excellent free throw shooting team, knocking down 72 percent of its foul shots. The Musketeers will host Rhode Island on Jan. 14 prior to their meeting with the Colonials.
GW is 17-0 all-time against Dayton and holds a 9-0 record in road games versus the Flyers. Its series with the Musketeers has been a bit more competitive with the Colonials owning a 13-9 series advantage. In 2003, GW and Xavier clashed for one of the most exciting games in school history, a four-overtime thriller that saw Xavier eek out a 94-92 triumph at the Cintas Center. The Buff and Blue returned the favor last season winning both pairings with the Musketeers, including a 66-64 win at the buzzer on a Montañana heave from behind the the three-point line.
Both games this weekend will be televised. The GW/Dayton contest will be broadcast locally in the Dayton area on Time Warner Cable. Tom Michaels will handle the play-by-play duties and Ann Meyers will provide color commentary. On Sunday, the Atlantic 10 Television Network kicks off its women's basketball coverage with the GW/Xavier matchup. Larry Rosen and Megan Keating will call the action.
Fans can also listen to both games live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
