Posted Monday, April 18, 10:18 p.m. Next season the GW women’s basketball team will be without sophomores Amanda LoCascio and Kristina Gineitis – the players will transfer at the end of the semester.

“They have both signed their releases and will be transferring,” head coach Joe McKeown said in an interview Monday night.

A chronic shin injury limited LoCascio, a guard, to 16 of the Colonials’ 32 games during their 2004-2005 campaign. In those games, she averaged 10 minutes and less than three points per game.

“Basically this was my own decision,” LoCascio said Monday. “It has nothing to do with the team or the coaching staff. I have some personal issues at home so I want to move closer to home.”

LoCascio is still unsure of her academic and athletic future.

“I am sending out releases this week but it’s going to be difficult because colleges are recruiting high school players right now,” she said. “Coach said he would help me find the place that’s right. I want to be closer to home so I am looking at Stony Brook, Manhattan College, some colleges in Connecticut and even Delaware.”

LoCascio came to Foggy Bottom with Corrine Turner, her teammate from Christ the King. The Queens high school is one of the highest rated programs in America and has produced stars such as Chamique Holdsclaw and Sue Bird. GW has developed a pipeline with the New York powerhouse; Darlene Saar, Debbie Hemery, and Kristeena Alexander are alumnae of both programs.

Gineitis played in 21 games this season, averaging more than five minutes.

Gineitis was a McDonald’s All-American finalist and was rated one of the top 100 high school seniors by Blue Star Basketball, a popular recruiting publication. She could not be reached for comment Monday.

The Colonials plan to bring in at least five recruits next season, including twins Jessica and Jasmine Adair, who hail from Anacostia.

GW has added depth to its frontcourt by bringing in Jamila Bates from Garfield High School in Seattle, and Chantelle John, who is attending Stonleigh-Burnham Prep School in Massachusetts.

Faith Peters, a guard from University High of Baton Rouge, La., will also bolster the Colonials’ backcourt.

-Jake Sherman contributed to this report