George Washington University Athletics
Two Winningest Coaches in the A-10 Face Off
2/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC - The Atlantic 10's two-winningest active head coaches, Joe McKeown and Dan Durkin, square off when the Colonials play Duquesne on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7:05 p.m. in the A.J. Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, PA. McKeown is the league's all-time leader with 205 conference victories, while Durkin owns 83.
The two mentors have gone head-to-head 25 times since Durkin took over the Dukes in 1993-94 with McKeown owning a 23-2 advantage in those meetings.
The Colonials (14-7, 7-3 Atlantic 10) overcame a six-point halftime deficit in their most recent outing, versus Dayton, on Feb. 6 to improve their record to 7-3 in the conference. They trail Xavier and Richmond by one game for the division lead in the A-10 West.
GW has six remaining regular-season games, including one each against the Musketeers and Spiders. The Colonials are in the hunt for one of the division's two byes in the conference championship tournament, so every game is critical.
Guard Kimberly Beck is rapidly approaching the GW freshman record for assists. She has 107 helpers so far this season. Kathy Marshall set the rookie record in 1981-82 with 122. Beck still leads the A-10 in assists per game, averaging 5.1 helpers per contest.
Senior All-America candidate Anna Montañana scored 17 points versus Dayton to pass Mary K. Nordling on GW's career points list. Montañana needs 48 points to tie Trish Egan (1,180 points) for 15th on that ledger. She also recorded six assists against the Flyers and now ranks fourth all-time at GW with 408.
Duquesne enters Thursday's pairing with a 7-14 overall record and a 2-8 mark in league play. The Dukes are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and have not won since posting a triumph at Massachusetts on Jan. 21.
Aiga Bautre is Duquesne's main weapon. She leads the team in field goals (117), three's (54), free-throw percentage (.903), assists (63) and scoring average (16.4 ppg). Four of the Dukes' five starters are averaging more than 8.0 points per game and Nicole Sinclair ranks third in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding at 8.5 boards per outing. The Dukes are the top ranked free-throw shooting team in the conference, hitting 280-of-375, good for a .747 percentage.
GW leads the all-time series with the Dukes, 41-5. All five of the Colonials' losses to Duquesne have come on the road, including last year's 77-60 defeat at the A.J. Palumbo Center. A-10 co-Player of the Year Candace Futrell had a monster game, leading the Dukes to victory with 25 points. Montanana paced GW with 19 points in the contest.
Fans can hear the game live over the Internet on GW's student radio station (WRGW Radio) at www.gwradio.com.
