George Washington University Athletics
GW Women's Hoops Set for A-10 Championship
3/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2014
WHO: GW Women's Basketball (20-9, 11-5 A-10)
WHAT: Atlantic 10 Championship Quarterfinals vs. Saint Joseph's Hawks (22-8, 10-6 A-10) | Championship Central
WHERE: Richmond Coliseum (11,992), Richmond, Va. | Directions
WHEN: Friday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.
HOW: Buy Tickets
STATS: via Atlantic10.com
VIDEO: Free on A-10 Digital Network and A-10 Mobile App
TWITTER: @GW_WBB | #RaiseHigh
AUDIO: WRGW Sports
NOTES: GW Notes | Saint Joseph's Notes
RICHMOND, Va. - The No. 4 seed George Washington women's basketball team will take on defending champion and fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship on Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Richmond Coliseum.
The Colonials (20-9, 11-5 A-10) are making their 32nd appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship, one of two teams to qualify for every league postseason since the tournament began in 1983, joining Saint Joseph's. GW is 33-27 all-time in the A-10 Championship. Last season, No. 8 GW defeated No. 9 Richmond, 59-53, in the first round, its first postseason win since 2008, before falling to top-seeded Dayton in the quarterfinals.
The No. 4 seed is the Colonials' highest since 2008, when they were the No. 2 seed. With an 11-5 record in league play, GW finished tied for second place with St. Bonaventure and Fordham in the A-10 standings and are seeded fourth due to tiebreakers, earning a bye through to the quarterfinals.
A win over SJU would move GW into Saturday's semifinals against the winner of Friday's quarterfinal matchup between No. 1 Dayton and No. 8 VCU.
GW defeated the Hawks, 74-67, on Jan. 5 in Philadelphia, but fell, 75-69, at the Smith Center on Jan. 22. Graduate student Danni Jackson has averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 assists in five career contests against Saint Joseph's, including 15.0 points and 5.5 assists this season, while freshman Caira Washington averaged 14.0 points and 13.0 rebounds against the Hawks in 2014.
GW is coming off an 88-79 win over regular-season A-10 champion and 21st-ranked Dayton in Saturday's regular-season finale, reaching 20 wins for the first time since 2007-08. Three Colonials recorded double-doubles - sophomore Jonquel Jones (22 points, 13 rebounds), Washington (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Jackson (17 points 12 assists) - and grad student Megan Nipe poured in 18 points on four three-pointers.
GW boasts the second-best offense in the Atlantic 10, averaging 76.5 points per game - more than 17 points higher than 2012-13 - behind four players averaging in double figures. Jones, who was named to the A-10 All-Conference Second Team on Tuesday, is the only player in the league averaging a double-double on the year with 14.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, while Nipe is right behind her in scoring at 14.3 points per contest.
The Colonials also lead the league in rebounding with 44.8 per game behind Jones and A-10 Rookie of the Year Washington, who ranks second in the A-10 with 9.1 boards per game. Washington was joined on the All-Conference Third Team by Jackson, who ranks third in the league in assists with 5.9 per outing. In addition, junior Chakecia Miller was selected to the A-10 All-Defensive team.
Defending Atlantic 10 champion Saint Joseph's (22-8, 10-6 A-10) finished in a tie for fifth place in the league standings and defeated No. 12 George Mason, 89-55, in the first round of the A-10 Championship on Thursday. Kelsey Berger led five Hawks in double figures with 15 points off the bench.
Erin Shields, who was selected to the All-Conference Second Team on Tuesday, leads Saint Joseph's with 14.8 points per game, while A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Cloud, who also earned a spot on the second team, ranks second in the nation in assists (7.5 apg) and also ranks second in the league in steals (1.9 spg).
