George Washington University Athletics
GW Meets West Division Leader Richmond at Smith Center
1/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington women's basketball team (10-5, 3-1 Atlantic 10) will square of with West Division leader #--/25 Richmond (14-1, 5-0 Atlantic 10) on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at the Smith Center at 6:30 p.m.
The Colonals season-best winning streak of four games was stopped on Jan. 16 at Xavier. GW is currently third in the A-10 West Division standings at 3-1. Richmond is atop the standings with a 5-0 conference record, while the Musketeers are second with league mark of 4-0.
GW leads the Atlantic 10 in steals per game at 11.87 and it's averaging 13.25 thefts per outing in its four league contests. The Colonials are ranked 28th in the nation in that category, their highest national ranking in any statistical category.
The Colonials also boast the reigning A-10 Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week. Senior Anna Montañana earned her second Player of the Week Award after averaging a double-double (13.5 ppg and 12.5 rpg) against Massachusetts and Dayton. She ranks fourth in the A-10 in scoring at 15.9 ppg. Freshman Kimberly Beck garnered Rookie of the Week accolades for the second time in 2004-05 with her performance in the two games. Beck averaged 12.0 ppg and 6.5 apg for the week.
The Colonials haven't lost this season at home (6-0) and have won their last 13 games at the Smith Center, the third-longest active home winning streak in the NCAA.
Richmond made its first appearance in the Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 25 in the most recent USA Today/ESPN poll. The Spiders' only loss this season came on Dec. 30 against DePaul at the Dartmouth Blue Classic. The Spiders have dominated their opponents this season, outscoring their foes by an average of 14.7 points per game.
Preseason all-conference selections Kate Flavin and Saona Chapman lead the team. Flavin is the A-10's top scorer at 17.9 points per outing. She also ranks fourth in the league in rebounding (8.7 rpg). Chapman is the conference's leader in assists (74) and leads the club with 27 three-point field goals.
The Colonials lead the all-time series with the Spiders, 8-1. GW crushed Richmond twice last season, including defeating the Spiders, 86-60, on Jan. 16, 2004 to begin the team's current home court winning streak. The Colonials have won all four series meetings at the Smith Center. Richmond's only triumph over the Colonials came on Nov. 23, 1982.
Fans can listen to the game live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
