George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Duquesne
GW Bests Snow, Succumbs to Duquesne, 66-64
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 6, 2010
PITTSBURGH, PA - The George Washington women's basketball team traveled on foot to the Palumbo Center to play Duquesne and nearly walked away with a victory, but Vanessa Abel hit two free throws with 27 seconds left and the Colonials missed two late shots in a 66-64 loss to the Dukes Saturday afternoon.
GW's adventurous afternoon began with a three-block trek to the Palumbo Center after the team bus got stuck en route to the arena due to the near 20 inches of snow in the Pittsburgh area.
After besting the snow, the Colonials managed to erase an eight-point deficit with less than four minutes to play to knot it at 64-64 with 49 seconds left. Abel was fouled with 27 seconds to play and converted a pair of foul shots for a 66-64 lead. Following a Dukes' timeout, sophomore Tiana Myers chased down rookie Megan Nipe's missed shot and launched a three-pointer that missed off the backboard as time expired.
The victory keeps Duquesne (17-6) in second place in the Atlantic 10 at 7-1, while GW falls to 5-17 overall, 2-7 in league play.
Sophomore Sara Mostafa led all scorers with 17 points, followed by four 3-pointers and 16 points from Nipe. Myers added three 3-pointers and 15 points and redshirt freshman Brooke Wilson chipped in eight points and game-high 12 rebounds.
Rachel Frederick recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Dukes. Keri Pryor scored 14, Abel finished with 13 and six assists and Samantha Pollino pitched in 10.
Duquesne led nearly the entire first half until Nipe got hot, scoring seven of her points the final 2:30 of the period, including a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer, to pull GW even at 35-35.
The lead changed hands six times over the final 20 minutes, but it appeared the Dukes seized control with a 7-1 run to grab a 63-55 edge with 4:01 remaining.
GW stormed back behind three-pointers on its next three possessions - two from Nipe and another from Wilson - to make it 64-64 with less than a minute to play. Abel was then fouled twice over the next 22 seconds, the latter while driving to the basket to earn two free throws and the eventual game-winning points.
The Colonials hit a season-high nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts, but still finished below 40 percent shooting (39.3 percent) for the 16th time this season, falling to 2-14 in those games. The Dukes also converted nine 3-pointers and finished 40.4 percent from the field (23-of-57).
The Colonials will be stuck in Pittsburgh until at least Sunday and return to action Wednesday against Richmond at Charles E. Smith Center at 7:00 pm.
