Women's Basketball Falls in A-10 First Round at St. Joe's

Tuesday, March 5

Philadelphia, Pa.

3 p.m.

George Washington University

10-20

No. 8 Saint Joseph's

12-18

George Washington

Saint Joseph's

3/5/2019 6:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Luma's double-double leads three in double figures

PHILADELPHIA - GW women's basketball saw its season come to an end in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship on Tuesday afternoon, suffering a 61-49 setback to No. 8 seed Saint Joseph's at Hagan Arena.

The two defensive-minded squads battled through a back-and-forth tussle in the opening 20 minutes with GW's post presence making an early impact. First-year Kayla Mokwuah and sophomore Neila Luma combined to score GW's first 16 points before a 3-pointer from senior Kelsi Mahoney pushed GW in front 19-18 with five minutes remaining in the half.

The Colonials' offense went cold entering intermission, though, as St. Joe's went on an 8-3 run in the final five minutes to take a 26-22 lead into the locker room.

The entire first half was played within a four-point margin, and it remained a two-possession game until a 7-0 burst from the Hawks increased their lead to 11, 37-26, with six minutes to go in the third.

GW worked its way back into the game via a 7-0 run of its own to finish the quarter, accented by a triple from senior Mei-Lyn Bautista and a layup from Mokwuah.

That was as close as the Buff & Blue would get for the rest of the day as Saint Joseph's used a four-point possession early in the fourth quarter to spur a 9-1 run and increase the lead back to double digits for good.

Luma led the Colonials with her second double-double of the campaign, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Mokwuah added 13 points and five boards while Bautista finished off her Buff & Blue career with 11 points and four assists.

Bautista, Mahoney and Savino wrap up their GW career having won 75 games over the past four seasons, including two Atlantic 10 Regular Season titles, two A-10 Tournament Championships and two trips to the NCAA Touranment. Bautista is just the third player in program history with at least 400 assists and 150 made 3-pointers, ranking in the top 10 in both categories. Mahoney finishes ninth all-time in made 3-pointers in program history as one of the top sharpshooters to don the Buff & Blue. Savino, a manager for three seasons, made quite an impression in her lone year on the court starting 27 games and becoming a team leader by providing tremendous vocal leadership and energy.