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 Senior Antelia Parrish led GW with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a season-opening 75-56 victory over UMBC at Smith Center Saturday. |
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Women's Basketball Outraces UMBC, 75-56, in Bozeman's Debut
Nov. 15, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Despite a rough start, first-year George Washington women's basketball head coach Mike Bozeman's debut was a resounding success as the Colonials overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat the UMBC Retrievers, 75-56, in a fast-paced season opener at Charles E. Smith Center Saturday afternoon.
After falling behind by 15 early in the first half, GW (1-0) clamped down on UMBC's Carlee Cassidy, who finished with a career-high 31 points, and turned to returning leading scorers Antelia Parrish and Jessica Adair to give Bozeman his first collegiate coaching victory.
Parrish led GW with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double and added a team-high six assists to finish just shy of a triple-double. Jessica Adair followed with 15 points and nine boards, and contributions from freshmen Tara Booker, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Tiana Myers, who added 11 points, helped the Colonials fend off the upset-minded Retrievers.
UMBC (0-1) rode the hot start of sharp-shooting guard Cassidy to put GW in a 15-point hole early in the first half. Cassidy scored 16 of her team's first 18 points to help the Retrievers to a 24-9 lead just over eight minutes into the game.
Parrish, Adair and Booker jumpstarted the Colonials' momentum-turning rally, combining for 18 points in a 27-9 spurt that put the hosts ahead, 36-33, at halftime.
GW extended its lead to 44-38 just over four minutes into the second half, but UMBC scored seven unanswered points, capped by Cassidy's final field goal, to regain a one-point 45-44 advantage with 13:56 remaining. However, GW answered with eight consecutive points and never trailed again.
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Michelle Kurowski's three-pointer with 6:02 to play moved the visitors within seven at 61-54, but the Colonials ended the game on a 14-2 run, highlighted by a three-point play from Parrish, to post their third straight season-opening victory over the Retrievers.
Myers, freshman Kay-Kay Allums and redshirt sophomore Ivy Abiona teamed to limit Cassidy, who had eight field goals and 21 points in the opening 10 minutes, to just three baskets and eight points over the final 30 minutes. UMBC made just 8-of-37 shots in the second half and shot 28.8 percent for the game.
The much-larger Colonials grabbed 63 rebounds, six shy of matching the school record, and outscored the Retrievers 40-16 in the paint. The two teams' combined for 143 shots and 108 rebounds.
GW hosts Coppin State at Smith Center Monday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 pm.
