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 Senior Antelia Parrish and the GW women's basketball team faces its third Top 10 team of the season Saturday at No. 3/3 Texas A&M. |
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GW Opens 2009, Lonestar Trip at No. 3/3 Texas A&M
Jan. 2, 2009
GW vs. #3/3 Texas A&M Notes 
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COLLEGE STATION, TX - George Washington opens its first trip to Texas since the 2007 NCAA Tournament Dallas Regional at No. 3/3 Texas A&M Saturday night at 6:00 pm ET. Saturdayʼs game is the first of a doubleheader at Reed Arena, with the Texas A&M menʼs team facing McNeese State in the late game.
Saturdayʼs game is just the third between the programs, all within the past 22 months. GW knocked TAMU out of the 2007 NCAA Tournament with a 59-47 victory at USCʼs Galen Center in Los Angeles. Last season, Sarah-Jo Lawrence scored a career-high 29 points, including a game-tying three-pointer with four seconds left to send the game to overtime, as the 22nd-ranked Colonials topped the No. 10 Aggies, 66-65, in Washington, DC.
The home-and-home series was between GW and Texas A&M was set up during former head coach Joe McKeownʼs tenure. McKeown, now head coach at Northwestern, and TAMU coach Gary Blair have been friends since each others debut into coaching in the Midwest during the 1980ʼs.
GW (7-5) is in the finale of a seven-game swing in which it will face four ranked opponents, including three Top 10 programs. The Colonials have already posted rallying losses against No. 7/9 Tennessee, No. 10/10 Auburn and No. 15/14 Rutgers and will face its highest ranked opponent in No. 3/3 Texas A&M since facing top-ranked Maryland in Nov. 2007. It will mark the fourth time in program history the Colonials have faced three Top 10 teams during the regular season (2006-07, 1994-95, 1990-91).
GW had a two-game winning streak snapped at No. 15/14 Rutgers Dec. 29, its first road game in 36 days. The Colonials trailed most of the game, but pulled within 40-36 midway through the second half before the Scarlet Knights used a 17-8 run to send GW to its third loss to RU in the past 13 months.
The Colonials are 24-86 all-time against ranked opponents over 33 seasons, but are just 1-22 against teams ranked in the Top 5 - their lone upset coming against No. 4 North Carolina in the 1997 NCAA Tournament regional semifinal. GWʼs "best" regular-season victory to date was a 63-58 home win versus No. 7/7 Rutgers on Dec. 4, 1999. GW has beaten at least one ranked opponent in each of the past six seasons, in nine of the last 10 years, and 10 of the last 12.
After advancing to the 2008 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight last season, No. 3/3 Texas A&M (11-0) is enjoying a banner start to 2008-09, including the highest national ranking in school history. The Aggies are off to their best start at 11-0 and can match a program-best 12-game winning streak with a victory over the Colonials Saturday.
TAMU is coming off back-to-back home victories over ranked opponents - a 64-50 win over No. 24 TCU on Dec. 21 and 83-51 rout of No. 25 New Mexico Tuesday night. Seniors Danielle Gant (27 points) and Takia Starks (24) combined for 51 points and the Aggies shot nearly 65 percent (20-of-31) and outscored the Lobos 47-21 in the second half. Texas A&M led the nation in both field goal percentage defense (.310) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.192) in the latest NCAA stats report Dec. 21.
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