George Washington University Athletics
GW and Duquesne Duel in A-10 Championship First Round
3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 4, 2010
2010 A-10 Postseason Media Guide 
| | A-10 All-Access | A-10 Championship Central
UPPER MARLBORO, MD - The 11th-seeded George Washington women's basketball team makes the short trek to Upper Marlboro, MD, and The Show Place Arena to face No. 6 seed Duquesne in the first round of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship Friday at 8:00 pm.
GW (6-21, 3-11 A-10) makes its 28th appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship, one of four teams to qualify for every league postseason since the tournament began in 1983 (GW, Massachusetts, Saint Joseph's, Temple).
GW is 32-23 all-time in the A-10 Championship (1st Round - 2-2; Quarterfinals - 16-9; Semifinals - 10-6; Finals - 4-6). The No. 11 seed is GW's worst seeding ever in the A-10 Championship. GW's previous lowest seed was No. 9 in 1985, when the Colonials' opponent was No. 8 seed Duquesne. GW lost 62-57 in the first round in that game.
GW and Duquesne have met seven times in the A-10 Championship, the third-most common tournament opponent for the Colonials behind Temple (eight times) and Saint Joseph's (nine times). GW is 6-1 against DU, with three of those seven previous meetings coming in the first round all between 1984-86, with GW owning a 2-1 edge in those opening round games.
In their last A-10 Championship meeting, West #1 seed GW rolled to a 76-58 victory over West #5 seed Duquesne in the quarterfinals of the 2003 tournament at the Ryan Center in Kingston, RI. The Colonials then went on to defeat East #2 seed Temple, 64-59, and East #5 seed Rhode Island, 56-49, to win their fourth A-10 Championship title.
GW's first round exit from the 2009 A-10 Championship following a 62-58 loss to 12th-seeded Rhode Island was its earliest departure from the conference tournament since 1985 (a first round loss to Duquesne). The defeat marked the second-biggest upset, in terms of seeding, in the history of the A-10 Championship. The biggest came in 2006 when No. 10 Duquesne beat No. 2 Charlotte in the quarterfinals.
First round and quarterfinal match-ups can be viewed live on www.atlantic10.org, as well as www.GWsports.com for all GW games. Fans can subscribe for the cost of $7.95 per game, while A-10 All-Access subscribers can view the contests for free. Sunday's semifinal contests will begin at Noon on Sunday, Mar. 7, and be televised nationally on CBS College Sports, while the title game of the 2010 A-10 Championship on Monday, Mar. 8, will be shown live on ESPN2 at 5:00pm.
All tournament games will have live stats via GameTracker on www.Atlantic10.org, as well as www.GWsports.com for all GW games.
