Women's Basketball Set to Host No. 9/10 Maryland Wednesday

Wednesday, November 14

Washington, D.C.

7 p.m.

George Washington University

#9/10 Maryland

11/13/2018 4:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

GW aims for first top-10 win in five years

WASHINGTON - GW women's basketball welcomes one of the perennial powers in the sport to the Smith Center on Wednesday as No. 9/10 Maryland visits Foggy Bottom. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Terps are the first top-10 opponent to visit Foggy Bottom since Nov. 22, 2014.

LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials are 1-1 on the year after defeating Ivy League-favorite Princeton, 64-49, in their home opener on Sunday afternoon. Mei-Lyn Bautista led the charge with a balanced attack of 15 points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds. Lexus Levy added a career-best 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. GW held Princeton to just 29.0 percent from the floor (20-69), including a paltry 18.4 percent from beyond the arc (7-38). The Colonials have held their first two opponents to 33.1 percent shooting and an average of 49.5 points.

STRONG DEFENSE SHINING THROUGH: The Buff & Blue rank 15th in the NCAA in total defense among teams who have played at least two D-I teams (49th overall). GW has forced 37 turnovers in its first two contests, resulting in 39 points, nearly 40 percent of the team's offense. Bautista has recorded five steals in each game and ranks 13th nationally in steals per game entering Wednesday. The Colonials yielded just four free throws to Princeton on Sunday, the fewest since Saint Joseph's attempted just three in the A-10 Championship game last year.

So far through two games, GW has allowed only 12 free throws to opponents while attempting 44 of their own. The lack of fouling has been a hallmark of Jennifer Rizzotti's defensive structure, as her team ranked 21st in the nation last year with just 14.1 fouls per game. GW has made more free throws than the opposition has attempted in both games this year, and in eight of the last 10 games dating back to 2017-18.

HISTORY AGAINST TOP 10 TEAMS: GW is set to play its 60th game in program history against a top-10 opponent, having won on eight previous occasions. A win on Wednesday would tie GW's second-highest ranked opponent defeated during the regular season, trailing only No. 7 Rutgers in 1999. The wins over No. 4 North Carolina in 1997 and No. 10/8 California in 2008 were in the NCAA Tournament.

This will be the 17th visit for a top-10 opponent to Foggy Bottom. GW has pulled off four wins in the previous 16 games. Wednesday is the second trip for a top-10 Maryland team.

RIGOROUS SCHEDULE OUT OF THE GATE: Maryland is the third straight preseason favorite that GW has faced to begin the campaign. JMU (Colonial), Princeton (Ivy) and Maryland (Big Ten) were all the top pick in their respective leagues. Mercer (SoCon) represents the fourth team on the non-conference slate projected to win its league. GW joins DePaul and South Dakota State as the only teams in the nation to face three straight preseason favorites to open their respective seasons.

A LOOK AT THE TERRAPINS: Maryland is 2-0 on the season with home victories against Coppin State and fellow A-10 foe Dayton. The Terps are averaging 87.5 points per game and feature five players averaging double figures. Taylor Mikesell tops the squad with 16.5 points per game while Stephanie Jones (14.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and Shakira Austin (13.0 ppg, 13.5 rpg) are averaging double-doubles thus far. Austin was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week in her first week as a Terrapin.

UMD is the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten, something it has accomplished three of the last four years. Maryland has been to eight straight NCAA Tournaments and has advanced to the Final Four three times in the last 13 seasons.