George Washington University Athletics
Colonials Look to Stay Hot
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC - The GW women's basketball team (18-7, 11-3 Atlantic 10) will look to extend its five-game winning streak on Thursday, Feb. 24 when it meets Duquesne (9-16, 4-10 Atlantic 10) at 7:00 p.m. at the Smith Center. The Colonials current string of victories represents their longest this season.
The Buff and Blue's winning streak have put them in the driver's seat for one of the West Division's two byes for the Atlantic 10 Championship which begins on Friday, March 4 and continues through Monday, March 7 at the Smith Center.
After defeating Xavier in overtime on Feb. 20, the Colonials received votes in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls this week. Senior Anna Montañana keyed the OT triumph with 27 points, including six in overtime. She also tallied five assists in the game to move past Lindsey Davidson for third on GW's career assists ledger with 427. It also put her over the 100-assist plateau for the season. As of statistics reported on Feb. 20, Montañana is one of six players in the nation to have at least 400 points and 100 helpers this year.
Senior Jessica Simmonds also had a strong performance against the Musketeers with 21 points. She ranks seventh in the league in scoring at 14.7 points per game and is third in blocks (1.28 bpg). Freshman Kimberly Beck moved into 12th on the GW single-season assists chart with five against Xavier and she now has 133 for the season.
Duquesne has lost two of its last three games, including falling at La Salle in its most recent outing on Feb. 20. The Dukes are led by Aiga Bautre, who ranks sixth in the A-10 in scoring (15.2 ppg). She is also tops in the league in three-point field goal percentage at .389 (58-149). Nicole Sinclair is the squad's top rebounder, averaging 8.8 boards per outing.
The Colonials won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 79-47, on Feb. 10 at the A.J. Palumbo Center. GW grabbed a season-high 46 caroms in the contest and six Colonials had at least five boards. The Colonials are unbeaten at the Smith Center against the Dukes (20-0) all-time and they own a 42-5 advantage versus Duquesne in the series.
Tickets for Thursday's game can be purchased by calling the GW athletics box office at (202) 994-6050 or by calling (202)432-SEAT. Fans can also hear the game live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
