George Washington University Athletics
GW Women's Hoops to Play in Gulf Coast Showcase
6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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June 13, 2016
Gulf Coast Showcase | Bracket 
| Tickets | Fan Information
ESTERO, Fla. -- The 2016 Atlantic 10 champion George Washington women's basketball team will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in the Sunshine State taking on premier competition as part of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The three-day event takes place from Nov. 25-27 at the Germain Arena in Southwest Florida.
The Colonials will open the tournament against 2016 national runner-up Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 25 at either 5:00 or 7:30 p.m. The rest of the weekend's schedule will be determined by results, with either Sweet 16 participant Ohio State or WNIT runner-up Florida Gulf Coast awaiting GW on Saturday.
Two-time national champion Baylor headlines the other half of the eight-team bracket, which also includes 2016 Sweet 16 participant DePaul, WNIT quarterfinalist Western Kentucky and Kent State.
"The level of competition that we will face at the Gulf Coast Showcase is second to none with seven postseason teams from a year ago," said first-year head coach Jennifer Rizzotti. "We look forward to this early challenge in our schedule, which will undoubtedly help prepare us for the tough competition we will face in the Atlantic 10 Conference this season."
"This is the deepest and most experienced top-to-bottom field in the four-year history of the Gulf Coast Showcase," said Debbie Antonelli, ESPN analyst and Women's Tournament director. "The quality of the teams and the level of coaching is like an NCAA Regional. We have two top-five programs, four of the eight have been to the Final Four and Baylor has won two national championships in recent years. I'm very excited to assist in bringing three days of big-time women's college basketball to Southwest Florida."
The Colonials will be making their third trip to Florida in the last four years after visiting FGCU for the 2014-15 season opener and taking on USF in the third round of the 2014 WNIT.
Fan travel information for the 2016 Gulf Coast Showcase, including tickets, preferred hotel rates and gameday shuttle from the hotel to Germain Arena, is available at GulfCoastShowcase.com.
The Colonials' complete 2016-17 schedule will be announced at a later date.
