This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Agam Mittal.

What: Women’s basketball (1-1) vs. Coppin State (0-2)

Where: Smith Center, Washington, D.C.

When: Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.

Coming off their first win of the season after defeating Princeton at home on Sunday, the Colonials will look to keep their momentum going against a Coppin State team that lost its first two games by an average margin of 46 points.

Case for the Colonials:

Graduate transfer Lexi Martins is fitting in nicely with her new team, averaging 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over her first two games as a Colonial and providing good minutes off the bench to support starting center Caira Washington. Washington has also been impacting the game on both sides of the ball, scoring 18 points against Georgetown and recording two blocks during in the home-opener against Princeton.

Junior forward Kelli Prange led the Colonials with 11 points and stretched the floor with her three-point shooting Sunday as well. The experienced trio of Martins, Washington, and Prange should outmatch and overwhelm a young Coppin State frontcourt playing in their third consecutive road game.

For the Colonials, there’s no place like home, where they have won 26 of their last 28 games dating back to November 2014, while Coppin State team went 4-11 on the road in their non-conference slate last year.

After finishing 16-16 last year and advancing to the conference championship game, the Eagles were predicted to finish seventh in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference this year. The Eagles have struggled mightily thus far, dropping their first game to VCU, 77-43 and then losing to Virginia 103-40.

GW will need to take care of the ball against the Eagles, who led their conference in steals per game last season (10.0), but it should be able to secure an easy win as long as the team finds scoring opportunities for Washington and brings its usual intensity against a team that will compete hard with nothing to lose.

Case for the Eagles:

Despite their struggles so far this season, the Eagles advanced to the MEAC Tournament Championship game last year and return 6 letter-winners from that squad.

One of the Eagles’ biggest strengths is their experienced guard play. Coppin State returns redshirt junior guard Genesis Lucas, who played 40 minutes in a loss to Virginia and scored ten points, grabbed six rebounds, with three steals and two assists. Last season, she averaged 4.3 assists per game and finished as the conference leader in assists.

Lucas is complemented by senior guard Keena Samuels, a preseason All-MEAC Third Team selection who led the team last season with 11.7 points per game and 19 double-figure scoring performances. The backcourt duo of Lucas and Samuels each started in 30 games last season and will bring leadership and stability to a roster adjusting to first-year head coach DeWayne Burroughs.

Of the newcomers, 5-foot-11-inch freshman center Chance Graham poses the biggest threat in the frontcourt for the Colonials. Graham was named MEAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Week and averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds over two games against Virginia and VCU. The Upper Marlboro, Md. native is an athletic rim-protector who runs the floor well and can score the basketball.

Although an upset seems unlikely, the Eagles also bring in a first-year head coach and their offensive game plan will be largely unknown to the Colonials. If the Eagles play an effective zone defense – with which the Colonials struggled on Sunday – and force turnovers, they may be able to surprise the home team and come away with their first win.

Bottom Line:

The Colonials should win easily on Wednesday after two competitive games against Georgetown and Princeton. The Colonials have a matchup advantage every position on the court and will take care of business at home against a struggling team.