George Washington University Athletics
GW, Duquesne Duel Saturday on CBS College Sports
2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2010
GW at Duquesne Notes 
| | Live Video
PITTSBURGH, PA - The George Washington women's basketball team will fight through the elements to visit Duquesne Saturday in a contest that will air live on CBS College Sports at 12:00 pm.
GW (5-16, 2-6 A-10) dropped its second straight game with a 72-56 loss to #7/7 Xavier in Washington Wednesday night. After grabbing an early 6-2 lead, the Colonials surrendered a 46-18 run the final 16 minutes of the first half as the Musketeers built a 48-24 halftime lead and coasted.
Sophomore Tiana Myers led GW with 18 points and is averaging 17.3 points over the last three games. Sophomore Sara Mostafa added 12 points and freshman Shi-Heria Shipp chipped in 10 in her second collegiate start. The Colonials played with seven available players against the Musketeers and will do so Saturday with season-ending injuries to three players and an indefinite suspension for sophomore Kay-Kay Allums.
The 52 all-time meetings between GW and Duquesne are the most against any single opponent for either program. The Colonials have won the last six meetings, 29 of the last 30, and 44 of the last 46 to take a 47-5 series lead. In GW's last trip to the Palumbo Center in Feb. 2008, former head coach Joe McKeown posted his 500th career victory with a 73-65 triumph fueled by Kimberly Beck's 19 points, all in the second half. In the most recent meeting last January, GW held off Duquesne's late three-point barrage for an 85-82 victory in the first matchup between Mike Bozeman and Suzie McConnell-Serio. The Dukes made four of their seven 3-pointers in the final 5:05 to erase a 14-point deficit, but missed a final triple as time expired.
Duquesne (16-6, 6-1 A-10) has bounced back from its lone A-10 loss this season (75-53 vs. Dayton Jan. 27) with road victories over Richmond and Saint Louis to move into second place in the league standings. The Dukes have never finished higher than a tie for fourth in the A-10, which they posted after a 9-5 league mark in 2008-09.
Leading scorer Samantha Pollino posted her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds to help lift Duquesne over Saint Louis, 61-54, Tuesday. Vanessa Abel led with 15 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals, while Keri Pryor rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points. Pollino (13.0 ppg) and Pryor (12.5 ppg) pace the Dukes in scoring.
2008 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Suzie McConnell-Serio has resurrected the Duquesne in just her third season as head coach. The Dukes went 20-12 last season, a 13-win improvement over McConnell-Serio's first two years which marks the nation's fifth-best turnaround over that span. DU also went from 2-12 in A-10 play in 2006-07 to 9-5 last season, a league-leading seven-game improvement.
