This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Nora Princiotti.

Who: GW (15-7, 6-2) at Duquesne (16-6, 8-1)
Where: A.J. Palumbo Center
When: Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m.

Case for Duquesne:

Duquesne leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and has lost just one league game all season. The Dukes have a suffocating defense, holding opponents to a league second-best 55.3 ppg. In short, that’s the tough task that GW has lying ahead of them.

After commenting on freshman Hannah Schiable’s “nose for the basketball,” head coach Jonathan Tsipis joked that Duquesne has “a team like Hannah Schaible,” so expect the Dukes to be ruthless and scrappy.

Though Duquesne’s game is predicated on defense, they still score enough points to boast the conference’s second-best scoring margin, besting opponents by more than ten points per game.

Raegan Moore leads the Dukes in scoring with 15.6 ppg, followed by Wumi Agunbiade with 15.1 and April Robinson with 11.1. Agunbiade scored a game high 22 points in the Colonials last matchup with the Dukes.

Duquesne received three votes in the USA Today Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll after wins against George Mason and Richmond last week and comes into Wednesday’s matchup with a seven-game win streak.

Case for GW:

Duquesne poses the first real test for GW, after a couple tune-up games against A-10 cellar dwellers allowed the team to get over some bumps and bruises.

The underdog Colonials, though, may take comfort in the Dukes’ lone conference loss to VCU, a team that, like GW, averages over 77 ppg and is built to score points.

The Colonials are finally healthy, with sophomore Jonquel Jones seeming to have bounced back from a foot injury and graduate student Megan Nipe getting more comfortable with her role off the bench – her 16 points against Rhode Island on Saturday were her most in six games since returning with an injury.

Jones impressed with 18.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game points last week and could have another strong performance against Duquesne. Easy buckets in the paint would be welcome against a top defensive team and, though the Dukes have some size, Jones will be the tallest player on the floor on Wednesday.

Duquesne’s defensive prowess comes in part from an ability to limit opponents rebounding, an area GW excels in. Duquesne has the third-best rebounding defense in the conference, but GW has the top rebounding offense, so if the Colonials can get extra chances to score off the boards they may be able to keep pace with the Dukes and pull of the A-10 upset.