George Washington University Athletics
Colonials and Owls Collide in Philadelphia
1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC - WASHINGTON, DC - The GW women's basketball team (12-5, 5-1 Atlantic 10) will take on East Division leader #24/25 Temple (15-3, 7-0 Atlantic 10) at the Liacouras Center on Thursday, Jan. 27. It will be the second time in their last three outings the Colonials have played a ranked opponent.
GW is coming off its most dominant performance of the season, crushing St. Bonaventure, 97-42, on Jan. 23. In the contest, GW set the Atlantic 10 record with 34 assists and tied the third-highest field goals made total in league history with 43. Five players scored in double figures against the Bonnies and the team was led by Jessica Simmonds who tallied 16 points.
Senior All-America candidate Anna Montañana led GW's assist parade with 10. Freshman Kimberly Beck registered a career-high nine helpers against the Bonnies. Beck leads the A-10 in assists per game at 5.06 apg, the 44th-best mark in the nation.
GW trails Xavier in the A-10 West Division standings. Xavier is unbeaten at 6-0 and posted a 57-42 triumph over the Colonials on Jan. 16.
Temple is off to a 15-3 start and have won their last 12 games dating back to Dec. 4. The Owls made their first-ever appearance in the AP poll this week, checking in at No. 24. Temple also holds the 25th position in the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. It is led by women's basketball legend Dawn Staley who is in her fifth year at the helm of the program. She is 89-50 overall heading into Thursday's pairing.
The Owls are 7-0 in league play and own a three-game lead in the loss column over second-place Massachusetts in the East.
The Owls are led by preseason all-league selection Candice Dupree. Dupree ranks third in the A-10 in scoring at 16.4 points per game. She leads the conference in rebounding at 9.5 boards per outing. Cynthia Jordan is the team's second leading scorer (12.9 ppg) and paces the club in assists with a 4.6 assists per game mark.
The Colonials hold a 25-14 margin in the all-time series and have dominated the series since Joe McKeown took the coaching reigns in 1989-90. GW is 25-3 against the Owls in McKeown's tenure.
Fans can listen to the game live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
