At halftime it looked like the Bonnies (4-9, 1-1 Atlantic 10) were on track to do the unthinkable- beat the Colonial women at home in a conference game. But the Colonials came out of the locker room juiced, putting together a 11-0 run to grab a 65-49 victory, head coach Joe McKeown’s 300th at GW.
Down 31-27, the GW women’s basketball team gave up 16 first-half turnovers which lead to 12 Saint Bonaventure points. They were out-rebounded 24-19 with only four offensive rebounds to the Bonnies’ 11. Only one player, Valerie Williams, tallied over five points and leading scorer Cathy Joens was 1-for-8 from the field.
“I really challenged them at halftime-really challenged them. You wouldn’t want to hear that speech,” McKeown said.
And his team responded. After St. Bonaventure opened up its biggest lead of the game, a 10-point lead two minutes into the first half, the Colonials went on their 11-0 run highlighted by a three-pointer by Anna Montanana (eight points, seven rebounds), to take the 39-38 lead.
The two teams traded leads for the next three minutes until a steal and lay-up by Joens put the Colonials on top for good, 46-44. A 19-3 Colonial run gave GW its biggest lead of the evening at 18 and put the game well out of reach.
“They really put the moves on us,” St. Bonaventure head coach Jim Crowley said of the run. “We knew they would have a run and we got a little tentative and turned it over and couldn’t put it in the basket.”
The Colonials gave up only six second-half turnovers while scoring 19 points of 11 Bonnie turnovers. Joens ended the day with 14, including four three-pointers while Ugo Oha added 11 points and four blocks.
Davidson, who sat out the first half due to a coaches decision, energized the team in the second half, making a bigger impact than her four points would suggest. McKeown credited his senior guard for her leadership on the court.
“To be the best team we’re capable of being, we need her on the court,” he said.
St. Bonaventure center Eva Kadlecova had a game-high 15 points while sophomore guard Lyndsey Maurer added ten. The Colonials held Courtney Mattingly, a Pre-season second team All Conference member and second leading scorer, to seven points.
GW 55, Richmond 49
Tuesday, Jan. 7
The GW women’s basketball team knew its first conference game would be no cake walk with opponent Richmond leading the Atlantic 10 in scoring. But the Colonials held off a second-half surge by the Spiders and took a 55-49 victory Tuesday at the Smith Center.
The Colonials held the Spiders to only 21 points in the first half on 10-for-29 shooting. Meanwhile, GW’s offense got the job done, shooting 56 percent (13-for-23) in the first half.
Erica Lawrence (16 points, five assists) scored 10 in the first half, helping her team to a 10-point advantage at the break.
Richmond launched a 15-5 run 10 minutes into the second half, tying the game at 36. But the Colonials did not allow Richmond to take advantage of the run, countering with their own 6-0 streak, keeping the game out of reach.
GW 84, Fairfield 65
Saturday, Jan. 4
Four Colonials scored in double figures as the GW women’s basketball team snapped its four-game losing streak with a 84-65 victory over the Fairfield Stags Saturday at the Smith Center.
Ugo Oha and Valerie Williams dominated the paint, leading GW with 18 points apiece. Lindsey Davidson and Anna Montanana chipped in with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Oha and Williams dominated the paint on defense as well, forcing Fairfield’s smaller inside players into early foul trouble. The Stag’s starting center and forwards combined for only six points all game and three Stags fouled out as GW scored 26 points on 38 trips to the charity-stripe.
GW established a sizable lead early, sending Fairfield to the locker room down 39-21. The Colonials built on this lead in the second half and led by as many as 27 points down the stretch.
Georgetown 70, GW 65
Thursday, Jan. 2
The GW women’s basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit and held a two-point lead with over a minute remaining, but could not complete the comeback, losing to host Georgetown 70-65 Thursday night.
A lay-up by Georgetown forward Nok Duany and a three-pointer from guard Mary Lisicky in the closing seconds gave the Hoya’s their lead back for good.
The Colonials have lost four-straight games since beating No. 21 BYU at the Smith Center last month. They have fallen out of the Associated Press and ESPN/USA today top 25 rankings.
Four Colonials scored in double figures in the losing effort, led by Ugo Oha’s 20 points. Anna Montanana added a career-high 16 while Lindsey Davidson and Erica Lawrence added 13 and 12, respectively.
Rutgers 87, GW 72
Sunday, Dec. 29
Twenty-four GW turnovers led to 32 Rutgers points, giving the Scarlet Knights the 87-72 edge over the Colonials Sunday in Piscataway N.J. The loss was the Colonials (4-5) third straight, dropping the women below .500 for the first time this season.
Not only did the Scarlet Knights (6-2) capitalize on GW’s turnovers, Rutgers received solid performances from their starting five. Four of Rutgers’ starters scored in double digits, led by Dawn McCullouch’s game-high 24 points. Chelsea Newton and Cappie Pondexter added 18 and 14 points, respectively, while Michelle Campbell added ten.
GW’s errors overshadowed an otherwise impressive offensive performance. The Colonials shot 56.3 percent from the field, going 7-for-14 from behind the three-point line. Five Colonial’s scored in double figures, led by Cathy Joens’ 14 points and Erica Lawrence’s 13 points. Joens shot 5-for-13 on the day including nine points from behind the arc. Ugo Oha, Lindsey Davidson and Anna Montanana added eleven each.
GW only trailed by five points with 1:22 left in the first half, but Rutgers went on a 7-0 run, giving them a 41-29 advantage at the half.
The Colonials could never recover from the first-half run, as the Scarlet Knights never saw their lead dip below eight for the rest of the game.
DePaul 64, GW 46
Sunday, Dec. 22
No. 21 George Washington lost its second-straight game to an unranked opponent Sunday, falling 64-46 to host DePaul University after losing a cross-town match to visiting George Mason Friday.
Cathy Joens (12 points on 4-for-12 shooting) was the only Colonial in double digits Sunday while Khara Smith’s 13 points and 10 rebounds led a balanced Blue Demon attack that saw four players with over 10 points. Sarah Kustok and Jenni Dant also scored 13 points while Ashley Luke contributed 12 for DePaul (9-3).
The Colonials (4-3), who were without senior point guard Lindsey Davidson (illness), did not get the scoring punch they needed from Ugo Oha. The junior center struggled, going 3-for-10 from the field to finish with 9 points.
GW jumped out to an early 14-7 lead with less than 12 minutes left in the first half but DePaul gained control in the waning minutes and headed to the locker room up 28-22. The Blue Demons would never trail again.
GW was out-rebounded 38-29 and shot just 35 percent from the field.
George Mason 63, GW 57
Friday, Dec. 20
The Colonials looked rusty in a 63-57 loss to George Mason. The game was GW’s first after a nine-day break for finals. The win was the Patriots’ first against a ranked opponent since Dec. 30, 1996 when they beat No. 10 Auburn.
The Colonials shot 41 percent on the day and were especially sporadic behind the three-point line, where they shot only 15 percent (3-for-20). GW was no better from the charity stripe, where the Colonials converted only 6-of-14 free throw attempts. Leading scorer Cathy Joens struggled individually, going 1-for-12 from behind the arc to finish with only seven points.
George Mason (3-2) also shot poorly as a team, making only 33 percent of its field goals, but the Patriots forced 24 GW turnovers which they converted into 22 points. Vernessa Neamo had 19 points (7-for-11) for George Mason to lead all scorers.
Ugo Oha led GW with 14 points and seven rebounds but got into early foul trouble and only played 11 first-half minutes. Anna Montanana and Valerie Williams notched 10 points apiece.
The Patriots’ Jen Derevjanik had an impressive line with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Khalilah Smith scored 11 points.
-Lauren Kornreich, Jeff Nelson and Lauren Silva contributed to this report
