Women's Basketball Opens 2019-20 Campaign at Villanova Wednesday

Wednesday, November 6

Villanova, PA

7 p.m.

George Washington University

Villanova

Women's Basketball Opens 2019-20 Campaign at Villanova Wednesday

11/5/2019 2:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Colonials enter year four under head coach Jen Rizzotti

WASHINGTON - The George Washington women's basketball team opens its 44th season of competition in 2019-20 under fourth-year head coach Jen Rizzotti on Wednesday night at Villanova. Tip-off from Finneran Pavilion is scheduled for 7 p.m.

UNDER COACH RIZZ: Head Coach Jen Rizzotti enters her fourth year as GW's bench boss with 49 wins under her belt in the Buff & Blue and 365 overall. In 20 years as a bench boss, Rizzotti has recorded seven trips to the NCAA tournament and five visits to the WNIT while posting 16 winning seasons.

2019-20 marks the first campaign at GW for Rizzotti in which she had a hand in recruiting all 13 players to Foggy Bottom. Only two players - Luma and junior Lexus Levy - have played more than one season at GW under Rizzotti.

PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: The Buff & Blue were projected to finish seventh in the preseason Atlantic 10 poll. Luma and redshirt junior Sydney Zambrotta were named to the preseason All-Conference second and third teams, respectively.

The accolades mark the first time since the 2016-17 campaign that the Buff & Blue have had multiple honorees on the preseason All-Conference teams. GW is one six A-10 schools to have at least two student-athletes honored on this year's list.

FRESH FACES: GW enters the 2019-20 season with more than half of its roster featuring new faces to the program. The Colonials have seven new players, although only two are fresh to the college game: first-years Faith Blethen and Essence Brown.

The Buff & Blue feature a pair of redshirt freshmen, Tori Hyduke and Mayowa Taiwo, who sat out 2018-19 after preseason injuries, and a redshirt junior, Zambrotta, who took her NCAA year in residence last year after transferring from Louisville, where she played in a Final Four for the Cardinals.

Two graduate students, Alexandra Maund and Ariel Stephenson, who hail from Yale and Wake Forest, respectively, join the fray. The two have a combined six years of playing experience in the program and come to GW in hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their respective careers.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF: The Buff & Blue will once again face a difficult non-conference schedule that features nine teams that won 19 or more games last year. The 13 foes combined for seven regular season and/or tournament league titles and eight postseason appearances.

Minnesota's visit to D.C. in December marks the 22nd time in the least 23 years that GW has hosted at least one Power 5 opponent. Last year, GW faced the 37th-toughest non-conference schedule in the nation.

A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS: Villanova was projected to finish in a tie for fifth in the preseason Big East poll following a successful 19-13 year last season that finished in the second round of the WNIT. Senior forward Mary Gedaka was named to the Preseason All-Big East team after earning second team selection a year ago. Gedaka is the team's top returning scorer (14.4 ppg) and rebounder (6.8 rpg) from a year ago and is coming off a year in which she finished third in the nation in shooting percentage (66.1%).

The Wildcats have made the postseason eight straight years and are led by head coach Harry Perretta, who is in his 42nd and final year leading the program following a preseason announcement that he will retire at year's end.