Women's Basketball Travels to South Florida Sunday

Sunday, December 9

Tampa, Fla.

2 p.m.

George Washington University

USF

12/7/2018 6:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Colonials wrap up pre-exam schedule with 2 p.m. tip

WASHINGTON - GW hits the road for its first true road game since Nov. 18 as it takes on South Florida on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bulls are the fourth team the Colonials have faced this year that have either been in the top 25 or receiving votes in a national poll.

AWAY FROM HOME: The Colonials are 0-2 in true road games this year, falling at preseason CAA favorite James Madison and Iona. GW is 0-4 away from the Smith Center thus far counting a pair of setbacks in Cancun over Thanksgiving. Under head coach Jennifer Rizzotti, the Colonials have taken care of business more often than not away from home, posting a respectable 15-12 mark in true road games.

LAST TIME OUT: The Buff & Blue are coming off a 60-45 setback to Villanova at home on Thursday to finish a three-game homestand. GW was led by Mei-Lyn Bautista (18 pts / 5 ast) and Neila Luma (14 pts / 9 reb), who extended their respective double-digit streaks to five and four games, respectively. Bautista and Luma combined to account for 32 of GW's 45 points, shooting 12-of-28 from the floor (42.8%). The rest of the team was 4-for-26 (15.3%) combined.

LEADING THE WAY: The duo have had to take on the lion's share of the scoring this season with Bautista pacing the team in scoring six times and Luma doing so thrice. Prior to this season, Bautista had led the team in scoring three times in her career while Luma did so twice during her freshman campaign.

BALANCING THE LOAD: Balance has been a necessity for GW this season with seven different Colonials having scored double figures in at least one game. Six of the Buff and Blue's 10 players have either tied or set a new career high in scoring at some point this season. In addition to Bautista and Luma, first-year Maddie Loder and redshirt-sophomore Olivia Gumbs, both of whom are in their first year in the program, have been the team's top scorer.

THE GOOD KIND OF D.C. SHUTDOWN: GW once again possesses a strong defensive unit, holding opponents to 59.7 ppg, the third-best mark in the A-10. Thursday was the fifth time this season GW has held an opponent to 60 points or less. The Buff & Blue have held seven of their nine opponents to below their season average entering the game. The Buff & Blue boasted a top-50 defense nationally in 2017-18, allowing just 58.5 points per game. GW has finished among the top 50 in both years under Rizzotti. Dating back to her time at Hartford, Rizzotti's team's have allowed fewer than 60 points per game in four straight seasons.

A LOOK AT THE BULLS: South Florida has been off for the last week since dispatching New Hampshire, 79-36, last Friday. The Bulls opened the season in the top 25 of both national polls and are currently receiving votes in both. USF has had to deal with losing one of its top threats, Kitija Laska, to a torn ACL, but has responded with three players averaging double figures in Laura Ferreira (17.6), Sydni Harvey (14.1), and Beatriz Jordao (12.5). Jordao is sixth in the nation, shooting 68.8 percent from the field for an offense that ranks in the top 70 of the nation. Defensively, the Bulls allow just 55.1 points per game, 40th in the NCAA and own a plus-13.6 rebounding margin which sits in the nation's top 10.