George Washington University Athletics
GW Women's Hoops Tangles With UMass on Wednesday
1/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Jan. 19, 2016
| George Washington Colonials (15-3, 5-0 A-10) vs. Massachusetts Minutewomen (6-11, 0-5 A-10) | |
| WHEN | Wednesday, Jan. 20 | 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  | UMass Notes |
| PROMOTION | Paint Night | Pick up your voucher at the box office for Paint Night and happy hour in the Colonials Club beginning at 5 p.m. |
WASHINGTON -- Fresh off a convincing victory at No. 25 Duquesne on Sunday, the George Washington women's basketball team returns to the Charles E. Smith Center to begin a brief two-game homestand on Wednesday against Atlantic 10 rival Massachusetts. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
At 15-3, GW has equaled the second-best record through 18 games in program history (two teams went 16-2). The Colonials, who along with St. Bonaventure are one of two Atlantic 10 teams which remain unbeaten in conference play at 5-0, have won 13 straight games against A-10 opponents since Feb. 15, 2015.
GW enters Wednesday's contest riding a 10-game winning streak dating to Dec. 6, tied for the ninth-longest active streak in the nation and the 12th streak of at least 10 straight wins in program history. The Colonials picked up their second win of the season over a ranked opponent, cruising past Duquesne, 70-52, on the road to hand the Dukes their first loss in two months. Senior Jonquel Jones registered her NCAA-best 15th double-double of the season with 24 points and 18 rebounds to go with seven blocked shots, while junior Hannah Schaible notched her first double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 boards.
A national player of the year candidate, Jones was named A-10 Player of the Week for the second week in a row and the fifth time this season on Monday, and on Tuesday she was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes the all-around student-athlete. Jones continues to lead the nation in rebounding (15.4 rpg) while ranking second in the A-10 in scoring (17.4 ppg) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg). She became the third Colonial ever to top the 900-rebound plateau on Sunday.
Jones and junior Caira Washington (13.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg) form the highest-scoring (31.0 ppg) and highest-rebounding (23.6 rpg) tandem in the A-10. Led by the duo, GW leads the nation in rebounding (52.3 rpg) and ranks second in rebounding margin (+17.9 rpg) as the Colonials have won the battle of the boards in all 18 games this season and 49-of-51 since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.
GW's defense has not allowed more than 61 points since Dec. 20. In the seven games since that contest, GW has held opponents to 53.9 points on 31.5 percent shooting. The Colonials lead the A-10 in field goal percentage defense (.305) and 3-point percentage defense (.211) against league opponents.
GW has won 38-of-48 all-time meetings against UMass, its third-most victories against any opponent behind Duquesne and Rhode Island. The Colonials defeated the Minutewomen, 69-54, last season at the Mullins Center behind double-doubles from Schaible (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Jones (13 points, 10 rebounds). In the teams' last meeting at the Smith Center in 2014, Washington tallied 25 points and 16 boards in a 78-54 victory.
Massachusetts (6-11, 0-5 A-10) has lost five straight games, all in A-10 play, following a 74-68 loss to Richmond on Saturday. Four Minutewomen scored in double figures against the Spiders, led by Cierra Dillard's career-high 27 points and Alyssa Lawrence's 18 points. Dillard paces UMass with 13.2 points per game, while Rashida Timbilla ranks third in the A-10 with 8.7 rebounds per contest.
