George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Green Bay
GW Burned by Green Bay Phoenix, 75-51, in Opener
11/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Sophomore Danni Jackson scored 13 points and Minnesota native Megan Nipe added 12 in George Washington women's basketball's 75-51 loss to Green Bay in the opening round of the Best Buy Classic at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Colonials will now face Northern Illinois, which lost to host Minnesota, 79-58, Sunday at 2:00 pm ET in the Best Buy Classic consolation game. Fans can follow live statistics, as well as check in with questions and comments on the live blog, for Sunday's game against the Huskies.
GW (0-1) lost its season-opener for the first time in five seasons in its first-ever meeting against Green Bay (1-0), which returned all of its starters and top reserves from last year's 28-5 squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials fell behind 7-0 early and trailed by double digits by the 11:17 mark of the first half, but battled back to close within three, 26-23, with 3:36 left in the period. Jackson scored out of the under 8 media timeout, Nipe converted a putback, and junior Tiana Myers made two free throws for her only points to make it 26-23.
However, GW wouldn't score the rest of the stanza and Green Bay scored nine unanswered to take a 35-26 advantage into halftime.
The Phoenix extended the run to 11-0 on a Sarah Eichler basket 1:20 into the half and the Colonials wouldn't get any closer than 11 the rest of the way. Jackson scored on back-to-back possessions - two foul shots and a three-pointer - to pull GW within 56-44 at the 6:01 mark, but Green Bay went on a 17-2 run the next 3:48 for its largest lead at 73-46.
GW shot just 27.8 percent (15-54) from the field, while allowing Green Bay to shoot 46.8 percent (29-62), including a 51.6 percent clip in the second half. Adrian Ritchie led five Phoenix double-digit scorers with 24 points.
The Colonials gave up 42 points in the paint and allowed the Phoenix 21 assists on their 29 field goals.
Redshirt senior Ivy Abiona totaled seven points and nine rebounds in her first action since March 19, 2009, after missing all of the 2009-10 season while rehabbing a torn ACL. Junior Tara Booker added eight points off the bench in her first action since December 2009.
