George Washington University Athletics
GW Visits American Saturday in Cross-Town Clash
12/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2010
GW Notes at American 
| Live Video | Live Blog
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington women's basketball team travels four miles northwest from its Foggy Bottom campus to visit American University at Bender Arena Saturday at 2:00 pm. It's the first meeting between the cross-town rivals since 1998 and is GW's first game against a District foe since opening the 2004 season at Georgetown.
Fans who cannot make it Saturday have a number of options for following the game:
• Watch Live on AUEagles.tv - $5.95 single game subscription fee
• Follow the action and submit questions via the Live Blog
Saturday's game is the first of four straight away from Charles E. Smith Center for GW as the Colonials wrap their 14-game non-conference slate. Following Saturday's game, GW will be idle for 10 days before facing host Miami (FL) and Morgan State in the Mayfair Hotel & Spa Holiday Classic in Coral Gables, FL, Dec. 28 and 29.
GW (5-5) is coming off a 52-45 loss against Auburn at Charles E. Smith Center Wednesday, its first loss in six home games this season. The Colonials were overwhelmed on the offensive glass by the Tigers, who pulled down 27 offensive rebounds en route to 17 second-chance points. Junior Tiana Myers scored all of her team-high 12 points in the second half, including six late as GW closed a 16-point deficit to 46-39 with 1:59 to play, but couldn't get any closer.
Myers and American junior Ebony Edwards were scholastic teammates at Bishop McNamara High in Forestville, MD, helping the school to a WCAC title as seniors in 2008. GW head coach Mike Bozeman posted a 151-35 record as head coach of the Mustangs from 1999-2005, before becoming an assistant coach with the Colonials.
GW has lost the last two meetings against American to fall to 9-10 all-time against its intra-city rival. In the last meeting in December 1998, American upset 13th-ranked GW, 81-75, at Bender Arena. 10 of the 19 series meetings have been decided by single-digits, including all six of GW's losses when visiting AU.
Both GW and American have posted victories over area-rival George Mason this season. The Eagles defeated the Patriots, 46-43, at Bender Arena Dec. 2, and the Colonials posted a 67-58 win at Smith Center three days later.
The Colonials are in search of their first victory away from Foggy Bottom this season, having dropped a pair of road games and two neutral site contests. A victory over AU Saturday would mark GW's first non-conference road win since topping North Texas, 84-82, in Denton, TX, in the 2009-10 season opener.
American, which last played two weeks ago in a 57-41 victory over Youngstown State at Bender Arena, has won its last three games to improve to 5-4 this season. Saturday's game marks the third of a four-game homestand for the Eagles, who have won 29 of their last 34 games at Bender Arena.
The Eagles have gone 3-2 over their last five games without redshirt senior leading scorer Michelle Kirk, the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year who is no longer listed on the team's roster. This year's Patriot League preseason Player of the Year and candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, Kirk averaged 13.8 points in the Eagles opening four games.
Senior forward Liz Leer and sophomore guard Lisa Strack have picked up the scoring slack in Kirk's absence, averaging 10.8 and 11.0 points, respectively, this season. Strack also leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg), assists (2.7 apg) and blocks (1.1 bpg).
With no player taller than 6-foot-2, AU spreads opponents to the perimeter with more than a third of its shots coming from beyond the three-point arc this season. The Eagles are disciplined defensively, entering this week ranked 12th nationally in committing only 13.4 fouls per game.
AU was picked to win the Patriot League this season after splitting the regular-season crown and reaching the league championship game in 2010. The Eagles finished 22-10 overall and 13-1 in league play last year to earn their third straight bid to the Postseason WNIT.
