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The questions surrounding the 1997-98 edition of the George Washington University women's basketball team entering the season centered on how the team would fare after the departure of the program's most successful senior class. Indeed, the accomplishments of the class of 1997 (Tajama Abraham, Lisa Cermignano and Colleen McCrea) were impressive: a 103-27 record over four years, four Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championships and two tournament titles, and appearances in the NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16" in 1995 and the "Elite Eight" in 1997. The response to the questions was simple - the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The 1998 Colonials continued the tradition of winning that head coach Joe McKeown has solidly entrenched in Foggy Bottom. After advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year, and seventh overall, GW faced Georgia in the first round at the University of Connecticut. Before a sold-out crowd of over 10,000 fans, GW defeated Georgia 74-72 to record an eighth-consecutive 20-win season. The win also kept the Colonials perfect (7-0) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The victory advanced GW to a second-record pairing with the host Huskies. After trailing 39-28 at halftime against Connecticut, GW rallied in the second half and cut the gap to 42-40 with just under 15 minutes remaining. The Colonials were unable to take the lead though, and eventually fell 75-67, but not before earning the respect of a sold-out Gampel Pavilion crowd and a national television audience.

After owning the Atlantic 10 Conference for the four previous seasons, 1998 was no different. GW posted a 12-4 record in conference games, the best in the league, and claimed a fifth-consecutive regular-season crown. The Colonials stumbled a bit in the conference tournament though, and lost 73-72 in the semifinals to eventual tournament champion Virginia Tech.

The key to GW's success in 1998 was the "Spanish Connection": junior forward Noelia Gomez and sophomore point guard Elisa Aguilar, both from Madrid, Spain. Gomez was named a Kodak District 1 all-American and a national honorable mention all-American. She was also a unanimous selection to the Atlantic 10 all-conference first team after being named the conference Rookie-of-the-Year in 1996. Gomez was named the Atlantic 10 Player-of-the-Week twice during the season. Aguilar was named co-Rookie-of-the-Year as GW claimed the honor for the second year in a row. Aguilar was also named second team all-conference and all-rookie. Aguilar was named Rookie-of-the-Week five times during the season.

The pair led GW in scoring, each averaging 17.2 points per game. Gomez led the team in rebounding with 6.0 rebounds per game, while Aguilar led the team with 4.9 assists per game. One of the duo led the team in scoring in 24 of 30 games. Aguilar was also among the national leaders in free throw shooting percentage all season.

Gomez scored her 1,000th career point on Feb. 19 at Massachusetts. She is the only Colonial to reach the scoring milestone in two seasons. Aguilar, however, is poised to become the second Colonial to achieve the feat this season, as she enters her second season with 516 career points.

Also playing a key role in GW's success was sophomore guard Chasity Myers. Named the conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year, Myers was also the team's third leading scorer (8.9 ppg) and rebounder (4.7 rpg). Myers led GW with 20 points against Connecticut as she kept GW in the game down the stretch.

The man at the helm of the program that has developed into one of the most consistently successful programs in the nation is McKeown. With a 68-58 victory over Temple on Feb. 9 in Smith Center, McKeown recorded his 200th victory at GW. In nine seasons, McKeown boasts a 205-76 (.730) record, easily the winningest women's basketball coach at GW. With a 273-96 (.740) lifetime record as a head coach, McKeown is among the top-20 winningest active coaches in women's basketball.

Twice named the Atlantic 10 Coach-of-the-Year, McKeown perhaps had one of the most challenging seasons of his career in 1998. With a young team (no seniors, six newcomers, seven returners) and a rash of injuries throughout the season, McKeown was forced to use nine different starting lineups with 10 of 13 players starting at least one game. Only Gomez and Aguilar started every game. Five players suffered injuries that caused them to miss significant playing time, with freshman sensation Petra Dubovcova's torn ACL the most serious. McKeown had the solution, though, and tapped all of his coaching resources to guide the team to another successful campaign.