George Washington University Athletics
Women's Basketball Visits Towson on Thursday Night
11/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Towson is under the direction of first-year head coach Diane Richardson, who served four seasons on the sidelines for GW as an assistant coach from 2012-16 ... the Tigers opened the 2017-18 season with a 72-49 loss at Massachusetts on November 12 ... Nukiya Mayo dropped in a career-high 19 points in the loss ... Redshirt senior guard Raine Bankston earned Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention accolades. |
TIPPING OFF: The George Washington women's basketball team hits the road on Thursday night in search of its first win of the season when it visits Towson at SECU Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials fell short in overtime against South Dakota State on Sunday afternoon at the Smith Center in a wild, back-and-forth game that featured 19 ties and 16 lead changes. Five Colonials finished in double figures, led by senior Kelli Prange's 18 points, but the Jackrabbits pulled away in the extra session to steal the win.
PRANGE ON POINT: Prange was GW's leading scorer and rebounder in both games last week, connecting at a 50-percent clip from the field while averaging 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in a pair of hard-fought losses. She led GW in scoring both times with 21 points at Princeton and 18 against South Dakota State. For the week she averaged 19.5 points on 16-of-32 shooting with 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
WELCOME TO COLLEGE: All three of GW's freshman have seen significant minutes over the first two games of the season with forward Neila Luma making the biggest impact thus far.
In the season opener against Princeton she finished with two points and four rebounds in 14 minutes of action. The effort earned the freshman forward her first collegiate start in Sunday's game against South Dakota State and she finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks over 33 minutes of action.
MEI'S BIG DAY: Mei-Lyn Bautista had one of the finest games of her career on Sunday against South Dakota State. The junior point guard played 39 of the 45 minutes in the overtime contest and responded with her first career double-double. She poured in career-highs of 14 points and four three-pointers. She also facilitated GW's offense with a career-best 11 assists against just one turnover, just one shy of GW's single-game record of 12 dimes (Laurie Cann in 1978). She added three steals and a block in the all-around effort.
"Mei does an amazing job in finding myself, and everybody else, wide open," said Prange after Sunday's game. "I think that personally, you always have to be ready for whatever she is going to throw at you. I think it is going to pay a big benefit for us moving forward to be able to pick out the zone and go into those open spaces for Mei to find us."
BOOST FROM THE BENCH: Senior transfer Taylor Campbell was a huge factor in keeping the Colonials in the game against the hot-shooting Jackrabbits on Sunday. The guard came off the bench and tallied 16 points, with three three-pointers and going 5-for-5 at the free-throw line, in just 17 minutes of action. In Friday's opener at Princeton she showed off her rebounding and defensive prowess with three rebounds and five steals over 14 minutes of action.
"I think it (asserting myself off the bench) is a balancing act," said Campbell after Sunday's contest. "I have experience and I feel like I can bring a sense of composure to the floor in a late-game situation. But, I'm also surrounded by incredible teammates who I know are doing the exact same thing. So when I get put in that situation, it's not just me out there, it is everybody working together."
SERIES HISTORY: GW leads the all-time series against Towson, 8-2, including a mammoth 82-48 win on New Year's Eve 2014 at SECU Arena. The Colonials are 3-1 in the series when playing on the road.
