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 Cathy Joens needs two three-pointers to become the all-time three-point shooter at GW. |
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Women's Basketball Preview: Dayton at GW (2-15-04)
Feb. 14, 2004
Game at a Glance
Date: Sunday, February 15, 2004
Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Arena (Capacity): Smith Center (5,000)
Place: Washington, DC
George Washington (Streak): 17-5, 10-1 (Won 9)
Home Record: 9-3
Last Game: Won 66-64 vs. Xavier, 2/13/04
Dayton (Streak): 3-20, 1-11 (Lost 6)
Road Record: 0-7
Last Game: Lost 67-44 at Richmond, 2/13/04
Series: GW leads 16-0
Last Meeting: GW won 71-51 at Dayton, 1/5/03
Broadcast: TV: Atlantic 10 Television with Larry Rosen on play-by-play and Megan Keating as the color analyst
Internet Radio: www.gwradio.com with Ben Chiswick and Matt Collier
Coming Up: GW takes to the road for games at Rhode Island, Friday, February 20, and Duquesne, Sunday, February 22.
Quick Notes
It seems Dayton may have picked a tough time to pick up their first victory versus the Colonials, when the two teams face off tonight at Smith Center. GW is coming off of a hard fought victory over Xavier on a last second three-pointer from Anna Montaņana, while Dayton is struggling through injury and illness. The Flyers will be without senior Cyndi Stull, who injured her knee in December, and freshman Katie Butler, who is battling mononucleosis.
GW is looking to extend its winning streak to ten, while Dayton is trying to avoid their seventh straight loss. The Flyers have had a difficult time scoring points this season and are only averaging 57.5 points per game. Meanwhile, GW is only giving up 60 points per game on 37 percent shooting.
The two teams locked horns in early January with the Colonials tallying a 20-point victory. Neither team shot the ball very well in that match up with GW going 29-70 and Dayton going 18-59, but Cathy Joens managed 19 points to lead all scorers. Anna Montaņana finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ugo Oha was her normal self on the defensive end with four blocks.
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Last time out, the Colonials scored the last six points of the game to beat Xavier, 66-64. Anna Montaņana buried a 25-footer to seal the victory for GW, but it was Cathy Joens who kept the Colonials in contention. She continued to shoot the lights out, scoring 28 points on 11-16 shooting, including 5-8 from three-point land. She is now only two threes away from becoming GW's all-time leader in made three-point field goals.
Meanwhile, Dayton lost its sixth straight at Richmond, 67-44. The Fylers did get a double-double out of Angela Cape with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and were led in scoring by Jennifer Strong with 15 points. But, Dayton turned the ball over 23 times and shot only 38 percent for the game.
Probable Starters
George Washington
Cathy Joens, G, 20.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.5 apg
Marsheik Witherspoon, G, 5.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.3 apg
Ugo Oha, C, 14.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.5 blocks
Anna Montaņana, F, 12.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 5.8 apg
Liz Dancause, F, 3.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 apg
Dayton
Emily Williams, G, 9.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.5 apg
Stefanie Miller, G, 14.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 6.2 apg
Angela Cape, C, 6.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg
Jennifer Strong, F, 7.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Amber Peterink, F, 5.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Storylines
Third Time's A Charm
When the game versus Xavier came down to crunch time, head coach Joe McKeown turned to Anna Montaņana to put the Colonials ahead. With GW down one and just under a minute to play, Montaņana made a Chris Webber-like spin move to the baseline but came up just short on the reverse layup. The Colonials remained down one, and this time, Montaņana turned to the middle for a jump hook, but the ball rolled off the rim. Xavier gave her another chance. After missing the front end of a one-and-one, Montaņana took the outlet pass up the right sideline and pulled up for a 25-footer that hit nothing but the bottom of the net, to give the Colonials the two-point victory.
Keep on Rollin'
The Colonials are currently on a nine game winning streak, the 10th longest in the country and are primed to continue that streak when they take on Dayton. The streak began on January 12 with an 81-57 victory at Yale, which happened to be the 500th victory in the history of GW women's basketball. Over the nine games, the Colonials are shooting over 50 percent from the field and are holding the opposition to 37 percent shooting. GW has four players averaging in double figures with senior Valerie Williams joining the big three of Cathy Joens, Ugo Oha and Anna Montaņana.
Eight Is Enough
Senior Cathy Joens is going to be scattered throughout the GW women's basketball record books when she finishes her career after this season. Versus Richmond, she entered her name yet again, by making eight three-pointers, the most ever by a GW player in a single game. She was previously tied with assistant coach Lisa Cermignano and Myriah Lonergan at seven in one game, before knocking down the record breaker with 15:03 left in the second half, on the way to 31 points for the game.
What More Can You Say...Joens is Good at Basketball
Everyone knows that Cathy Joens is the premiere player in the Atlantic 10, and she continues to prove that as she winds down her career with the Colonials. The reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year is averaging 20.3 points, six rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She is one of only three players in the country averaging over 18 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and she continues to get better. During GW's nine game winning streak, Joens is averaging almost 25 points, 6.4 rebounds and almost four assists, while shooting 52 percent from the field and an unbelievable 56 percent from behind the arc. The Colonails definitely have other players contributing, but Joens is the motor behind the machine that is George Washington basketball.
McKeown 41st to 400
Coach Joe McKeown has knocked down a few records in the past year, setting the bar for victories in conference with 194, making him the winningest coach in Atlantic 10 history. McKeown also passed former Rutgers head coach Theresa Grentz (293 victories) as the Atlantic 10's winningest coach in overall play (conference and non-conference) with 335 wins in his career at GW. Now, McKeown is the 41st coach in Division I women's college basketball to reach 400-career victories. Entering the 2003-04 season, the 17-year coach owned an overall record of 386-137. With the win over La Salle on January 31, coach McKeown carved out his own piece of history in college athletics.
