George Washington University

Jan. 14, 2009

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WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington used a 19-2 run spanning the first and second halves and held off a late Saint Joseph's rally to snap a four-game losing skid with a 66-60 victory over the Hawks in Atlantic 10 Conference action at Charles E. Smith Center Wednesday evening.

Redshirt sophomore Ivy Abiona, who came off the bench for the first time this season, led GW (8-8, 1-1 A-10) with 11 points - including seven during the 19-2 spurt - and nine rebounds. With the win, the Colonials avoided their first 0-2 start to league play in 21 seasons and halted their longest losing streak since 2003.

Freshman Tiana Myers finished with 10 points, followed by nine points and nine rebounds from senior Jessica Adair and nine points each from senior Jazmine Adair and freshman Tara Booker.

The teams' traded four ties and six lead changes the opening 15 minutes of the game, but the Colonials ended the first half with a 17-2 run to grab a 42-29 lead at the break. The Colonials shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) in the first half and equaled their season-high with 42 points in the period.

Jessica Adair opened the half with a basket to widen the gap to its largest of the night at 15 points with 18:20 remaining and the Colonials' lead hovered in the low single-digits for the next 12 minutes.

GW held a 54-40 advantage with 7:09 left when Saint Joseph's Michelle Baker scored 10 points during a 12-4 run which pulled the Hawks within 58-52 at the 4:05 mark. Baker paced SJU (8-9, 0-2 A-10) with 12 points, followed by 11 from both Ashley Logue and Mariame Djouara.

The Colonials pushed the lead back to 11 on a driving layup from Parrish and a three-point play from Jazmine Adair, but SJU responded with three-pointers from Jenna Loschiavo and Mary Kate McDade to close to 63-58 with just over a minute remaining.

Jazmine Adair again scored underneath, Erica Rivera converted 1-of-2 free throws and the Hawks missed a pair of three-point attempts in the final 16 seconds as GW won its 16 straight league home game.

GW outrebounded SJU 50-35, the third time this season it has grabbed 50-or-more rebounds in a game. The Colonials also turned 18 offensive boards into 15 points and held a 34-22 edge in points in the paint.

GW will seek its first road victory in seven tries this season when it visits Fordham Saturday at 1:00 pm.