George Washington University Athletics
GW Women's Hoops Back Home, Welcomes FGCU on Thursday
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
 |  | Follow @GW_WBB |
Dec. 2, 2015
| George Washington (5-2) vs. Florida Gulf Coast (3-3) | |
| WHEN | Thursday, Dec. 3 | 7:00 p.m. | Tickets |
| LOCATION | Charles E. Smith Center (4,338), 600 22nd Street NW Directions | Parking | Public Transportation |
| COVERAGE | RaiseHigh Live | A-10 Mobile App | WRGW | | @GW_WBB | #RaiseHigh |
| NOTES | GW Notes  | FGCU Notes |
| PROMOTIONS | White Out | First 500 students receive a FREE T-Shirt Bingo Night | Fans in attendance will receive a Bingo card that corresponds to actions in the game. Bingo cards can be picked up at the box office. |
WASHINGTON -- The George Washington women's basketball team returns home on Thursday evening to host perennial NCAA Tournament participant Florida Gulf Coast. Tipoff from the Charles E. Smith Center is slated for 7 p.m.
GW (5-2) is coming off a stretch of five games in eight days on their recent 10-day road swing through California and Texas. The Colonials went 3-2 on the trip, including a thrilling 81-77 double-overtime victory over then-No. 25/21 Iowa on Friday at the Lone Star Showcase.
Senior Jonquel Jones, who was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on Monday, averaged 20.0 points and 19.3 rebounds in the three-day tournament, including a 23-point, 26-rebound effort against the Hawkeyes. The 26 boards broke a 39-year-old program record and are the most in Division I this season.
A preseason Wooden Award candidate, Jones ranks third nationally with 15.0 rebounds per game to go with her 17.1 points per contest, which ranks fourth in the A-10. She has posted five straight double-doubles, tied for fourth-most in the NCAA this season. Jones also ranks third in the A-10 with 2.4 blocks per game.
Junior Caira Washington is also among the league's top 10 in scoring (7th, 15.7 ppg), rebounding (5th, 8.7 rpg) and field goal percentage (4th, .539).
GW has won 15 straight games at the Smith Center since Nov. 24, 2014, tied with Notre Dame for the 10th-longest home winning streak in Division I. The Colonials are 37-8 on Tex Silverman Court since head coach Jonathan Tsipis took the reins in 2012-13.
Florida Gulf Coast has won both previous meetings with GW, including last season's opener, 88-75, at Alico Arena. Making her collegiate debut, Kelli Prange posted a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead four double-digit scorers for the Colonials. Kaneisha Atwater and Anthi Chatzigiakoumi each scored 17 points to pace the Eagles.
The preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Sun, FGCU (3-3) fell to Arkansas State, 62-48, on Saturday. The Eagles, who have been without reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Whitney Knight all season, are 3-0 on the road this fall. Atwater, a 2015 First-Team All-Atlantic Sun selection, leads FGCU with 15.0 points per game this season, ranking fourth in the conference. The Eagles average 8.7 three-pointers per game, which account for 47 percent of the team's field goals this season. Under the direction of six-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast has won three of the last four Atlantic Sun titles and has advanced to the postseason every year since joining the Division I ranks in 2007-08, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
