Posted Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1:10 a.m. The Colonials’ 76-58 victory Tuesday night over Southern Methodist University (Texas) included several milestones. On top of being the most points GW (4-3) has put up this season, three players had career-best scoring totals. Sophomore Kim Beck led the Colonials with 23 points, while classmate Sarah-Jo Lawrence added 21 points and junior Kenan Cole had 14 points. Beck launched four successful 3-pointers while Lawrence was 7-for-8 from both the field and foul line.
“She raised the bar herself,” coach Joe McKeown said of Lawrence’s play. “We see it in practice, in bits and pieces, and I think she’s starting to get a little bit more control.”
McKeown would like to see more players scoring. “Most coaches would tell you that you want to have balance,” he said. “The best team we ever had, we had five players in double figures. We need to get more offensive presence inside.”
After being tied at 33 at the half, the Colonials outscored the Mustangs 43-25 in the second half to win by 18.
Sophomore Janielle Dodds, who hails from nearby Fairfax, Va., led SMU (3-5) with 22 points, 16 of them in the first half. She shot 9-for-14 from the floor. Senior Sarah Davis had 14 for the Mustangs.
After leading the Colonials in points in the paint in the first half, GW rebounded to dominate in the paint in the second half, outscoring the Mustangs there 28-16.
“The all-around effort and energy (in the second half) was different from the first half,” Beck said. “We came out in the first half kind of sloppy, playing at their pace, but we picked it up and everything started rolling for us.” GW had 27 bench points and 13 second-chance points. SMU outscored the Colonials 28-20 off the game’s 44 turnovers.
This was GW’s first victory over SMU and the first time the suburban Dallas program has traveled to Foggy Bottom. “I think coming off the schedule, SMU is a really good, solid program,” McKeown said. “They’re well-coached, (coach Rhonda Rompola) does a great job. SMU really worried me because I knew they were a good team yet they don’t have the name, like Tennessee, Purdue, Villanova or Texas.”
The Colonials continue their Smith Center stand, hosting Maine Saturday at noon and Yale next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
