Women's Basketball Clashes with Rhode Island Wednesday

Wednesday, January 9

Kingston, R.I.

7 p.m.

George Washington University

Rhode Island

1/8/2019 11:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball

GW hits the road for the first time in conference play

WASHINGTON - GW women's basketball hits the road for the first time in conference play, traveling to take on the Rhode Island Rams on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

LAST TIME OUT: The Buff & Blue were bested by Fordham, 50-38, to open up Atlantic 10 play. The Rams hit seven of their first nine shots from beyond the arc to open a 16-point edge they would maintain for the remainder of the game. Following the opening six-minute outburst, GW held Fordham to 3-of-19 shooting from deep (15.8 percent) and allowed only 11 field goals in the game's final 34 minutes. The Colonials ended up with a better shooting percentage (34.0-30.5) on the day but were outdone by a 10-1 edge in 3-pointers.

BALANCING THE LOAD: First-year Kayla Mokwuah became the sixth different Colonial to lead the team in scoring this season with 13 vs. Fordham Saturday. In addition to Mokwuah, Mei-Lyn Bautista (six times), Neila Luma (four times), Kelsi Mahoney (twice), Olivia Gumbs (twice) and Chyna Latimer (once) have paced GW in points.

Balance has been a necessity for GW this season with eight different Colonials reaching double figures in at least one game. Seven of the Buff & Blue's 10 players who have appeared in a game have either tied or set a new career high in scoring at some point this season.

QUALITY OFF THE BENCH: GW's bench was at it again on Saturday, providing 81.6 percent of the team's offense against Fordham (31/38). It marked the fifth straight contest in which the Colonials' bench has scored at least 18 points, a stretch in which GW is receiving an average of 25.6 bench points per game. The Colonials are 3-2 when scoring at least 23 bench points this year, but both losses have come when GW has received 30+ bench points (31 vs. Fordham, 32 at William & Mary).

SHUTTING DOWN MEMPHIS: GW opened 2019 and wrapped up non-conference play with a dominant defensive display in a 51-38 win over Memphis. The 38 points were the fewest allowed by GW under head coach Jennifer Rizzotti and the lowest in nearly four years (Davidson, 35, Feb. 5, 2015). Additionally, the 24.0 percent shot by Memphis was the second-lowest by an opponent in the Rizzotti era, bested only by the performance against Dayton's on Feb. 12, 2017 (20.8 percent).

A LOOK AT THE RAMS: Rhode Island won its A-10 opener on Saturday at Richmond, 66-60, to improve to 6-7 overall. The Rams rallied from a 15-point deficit, taking their first lead with less than four minutes to go in the game. Nicole Jorgensen poured in a season-high 26 points en route to being named the A-10 Player of the Week. She is the second straight Player of the Week recipient the Colonials have encountered to open league play.

Jorgensen (12.9 ppg) is one of three Rams averaging double figures with Elemy Colome and Davida Dale averaging 13.6 ppg a piece. Jorgensen is the team's top rebounder at 7.3 boards per contest and leads the league by shooting 49.3 percent from the field.