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 Cathy Joens will try and lead GW to the number one seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. |
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Women's Basketball Senior Day Preview: Temple at GW (2-29-04)
Feb. 28, 2004
Game at a Glance
Date: Sunday, February 29, 2004
Time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Arena (Capacity): Smith Center (5,000)
Place: Washington, DC
George Washington (Streak): 20-6, 13-2 (Won 1)
Home Record: 10-3
Last Game: Won 70-51 at Massachusetts, 2/26/04
Temple (Streak): 18-8, 14-1 (Won 7)
Road Record: 6-5
Last Game: Won 71-59 vs. La Salle, 2/26/04
Series: GW leads 24-17
Last Meeting: GW won 64-59 in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, 3/8/03
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 Travis Rush and Michael Berger
Coming Up: GW will take on the rest of the league at the Atlantic 10 Tournament, held on the campus of Saint Joseph's University, on March 5-8.br>
Quick Notes
It has come down to this. The winner of this evening's game
between George Washington and Temple will be the number
one seed in next weekend's Atlantic 10 Tournament. The
Colonials have won 22 out of the last 23 meetings between
these two teams including a 64-59 victory in last year's Atlantic
10 Tournament.
Both teams have been playing excellent basketball this season,
especially in conference. The Colonials have won 14 of their
last 16 games, while Temple is on a seven game winning streak.
The games between these two squads have always been hard
fought, and tonight's match up should be no different.
The Colonials have struggled to score of late, but the addition
of Valerie Williams has helped take the scoring load off of
Cathy Joens. GW will need Ugo Oha to dominate in the lane
the way she did during the Colonials run to the Atlantic 10
Championship last season.
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On the other hand, Temple has been winning thanks to their defense. Their pressure is holding teams under 60 points per game and just above 40 percent shooting. They shoot just over 42 percent themselves, so the Colonials will need to keep the Owls out of lane and force Temple to beat them from the perimeter.
The Colonials got back into the win column by defeating Massachusetts, 70-51, on Thursday, February 26. Cathy Joens led the Colonials with 22 points including six three pointers. Valerie Williams also had a great game with 16 points and five rebounds.
Temple extended their winning streak by defeating La Salle, 71-59. Kamesha Hairston led the Owls with 15 points and Brittany Jordan added 13 points to give Temple their 14th conference win of the season.
Probable Starters
George Washington
Cathy Joens, G, 20.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.3 apg
Marsheik Witherspoon, G, 4.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.5 apg
Ugo Oha, C, 13.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.4 blocks
Anna Montaņana, F, 12.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 5.7 apg
Valerie Williams, F, 9.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.3 apg
Temple
Cynthia Jordan, G, 9.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.9 apg
Christena Hamilton, G, 8.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.7 apg
Candice Dupree, C, 14.0, ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.8 blocks
Ari Moore, F, 7.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.7 apg
Toni Belafonte, F, 4.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 apg
Storylines
You Will Be Missed
The Colonials will say good bye to five players, Cathy Joens, Ugo Oha, Demetria Tipps, Valerie
Williams and Marsheik Witherspoon, during the 2004 edition of senior day. This group has been to two NCAA Tournaments, a Women's NIT and won three Atlantic 10 West titles, including the overall
championship last season. As a whole, they are currently scoring 68 percent of the teams points
led by Cathy Joens, who should finish her GW career second on the all-time scoring list. While this
group will be sorely missed, their work at GW is not finished with the Atlantic 10 Tournament and a
probable NCAA bid yet to come.
Endangered Species
The series between George Washington and Temple has been filled with grudge matches. The Owls
have been one of the more difficult opponents in the A-10, despite GW's recent domination of the
series, and that was never more apparent than last season. The Colonials won the first match up on
a buzzer beater by Anna Montaņana on January 12 in Philadelphia. The teams met again in the
Atlantic 10 Tournament with the Colonials prevailing 64-59. With the stakes as high as they are in
this game, Temple will most certainly be looking for revenge and the Colonials will have to match
their intensity if they expect to secure the number one seed in this year's A-10 Tournament.
20 Wins...Isn't That What You Expected?
The Colonials reached 20 wins for the 13th time out of the last 14 seasons with a victory over
Massachusetts on Thursday, February 26 and the only time they didn't reach 20 was a 19-win season
in 1999. The only teams that even come close over that span to matching the Colonials dominance
in the Atlantic 10 are Saint Joseph's with six 20-win seasons and Xavier with five. GW reached 28
wins, along with an undefeated season in the league, during the 1996-97 season, posted 26 wins three
times and 25 wins twice.
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 20.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She is even better in
conference, averaging 22.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Over the last five games, Joens is
averaging 22.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, while shooting almost 50 percent from the field and 47 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 196,
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 338 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.
