George Washington University Athletics
The Best Kind of Waiting
3/10/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Eric Detweiler, GW Athletics Communications
Selection Monday was a private affair for GW women's basketball last season.
After an early exit at the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Colonials watched with anxious nerves as they fell on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble, despite a regular season conference title and 20 wins.
"It was -- let me tell you -- one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced," Mei-Lyn Bautista said. "Just knowing that we had a chance and we just missed it by a little."
With that memory in mind, Bautista and her teammates are excited for a much less dramatic and more festive experience on Monday night. They'll have the cheerleaders, pep band and more by their side in the Charles E. Smith Center as they find out their NCAA assignment.
The Colonials earned that peace of mind with their spirited run at the A-10 Championship, winning four games as the No. 5 seed to claim the title and an automatic NCAA bid for the third time in four years.
"Knowing that our ticket is punched feels really good," head coach Jennifer Rizzotti said. "We'll be able to celebrate with everybody who's been there and supported us throughout the season and just be focused more on the matchup rather than whether or not we're getting in, which is nice."
GW has made postseason play an expectation with a run of success that's included 18 NCAA appearances and five WNIT trips over the past 28 years.
The Colonials battled through expected growing pains early this season before rounding into form at the right time.
With six wins in their final eight regular season games, they put themselves in good position for at least a WNIT bid, regardless of what happened in the conference tournament. Then, they went out and earned a return to the Big Dance.
The result may have seemed like a surprise to outsiders but not in the GW locker room. The Colonials felt the championship-level focus from their opening round win over La Salle on their home floor and sensed they had a shot at a special run.
Now, they will try to carry over that attitude as they prepare for the next step.
"We have confidence," said Brianna Cummings, who was named the A-10 Championship Most Outstanding Player. "We know we're a good team. Wherever we go, who ever we're playing, we're excited to just compete. It's just a good feeling to know that you have that automatic bid and your name is going to be called, so we're super excited to see what's next."
Rizzotti gave her squad three days off after Sunday's 65-49 win over Saint Joseph's in the A-10 final. The second-year coach believed the break was necessary after three games in as many days in Richmond.
The Colonials returned to practice Thursday for a light session. They'll take Sunday off and ramp back up on Monday before planning begins for their first-round matchup, which will take place either Friday or Saturday.
"This week is just more about lightening it up and changing it up and having some fun," said Rizzotti, a former National Champion player at UConn who led Hartford to seven NCAA appearances before arriving in Foggy Bottom. "Then once we find out who we're playing Monday night, we'll get down to the preparation piece of it."
The fun includes the bracket reveal and the fanfare that comes with it.
Last year, Rizzotti spent the days leading up to the Selection Show crunching numbers, sorting through bracket projections and rooting for results that figured to help GW's chances of making the field of 64.
The Colonials' automatic bid means considerably less stress for everyone this time around and the chance to soak in a well-earned moment.
Cummings, a veteran of two NCAA trips, said the lead up to this Selection Monday feels different, knowing it's her last one. The senior guard and the other upperclassmen can certainly appreciate the party that's coming, as well as the March Madness looming on the other side.
"Once we find out, it's showtime, back to the grind," Bautista said. "Yes, we're satisfied that we just won, but we're not completely satisfied. Our goal is to keep playing and keep winning."
