Junior Whitney Allen had a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the No. 20/21 GW (AP, ESPN/USA Today) to a 68-55 victory at Stony Brook (N.Y.) Saturday afternoon. Senior Kenan Cole and junior Sarah-Jo Lawrence had 13 points each, while junior Kimberly Beck and sophomore Jessica Adair each netted 12. All of Adair’s points came in the second half.

For the Seawolves (2-3), senior Jessica Smith had 23 points and 12 rebounds while classmate Mykeema Ford was the only other Stony Brook player with double-digit scoring with 14 points.

The victory included 17 GW (7-1) steals and 23 Seawolves turnovers, both season highs for the Colonials. In addition, Beck’s three assists moved her up to seventh on the program’s career assists list. Kathy Marshall, the leader, graduated with 591 assists.

The Colonials trailed by as much as 11 in the first half but went on a 16-4 run to end the period 31-29.

GW coach Joe McKeown was an assistant for Maura McHugh, the head coach of the Seawolves, from 1983-1986 at the University of Oklahoma. The two teams have only played twice in the past two years, with the Colonials holding the series edge 2-0.

The Colonials’ 6-1 ties the program’s third-best start, along with the 1977-78 and 1980-81 seasons. The team has put together two 11-1 starts, most recently to begin the 1994-95 season.

The Colonials now travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to play the No. 4 Lady Volunteers (6-1) on Dec. 7. Last year, GW trailed then-No.1 Tennessee by five points at the end of the first half at the Smith Center, but scored only 14 points in the second half to lose 59-43. The two teams then matched up again in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where the Lady Vols were victorious again, 66-53, although the Colonials outscored their opponent by four in the second half.

Then-freshman Jessica Adair posted her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. GW is 0-7 all-time against the perennial powerhouse.