This post was written by Hatchet senior staff writer Alex Kist.
What: Women’s basketball (14-3, 4-0 A-10) vs. No. 25 Duquesne (16-1, 4-0 A-10)
Where: A.J. Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, Pa., ESPNU (TV)
When: Sunday, Jan. 17 at 12 p.m.
After cruising to its ninth straight victory against La Salle, GW heads to Pittsburgh to take on one of its top-performing league rivals.
Duquesne, which has recorded just one loss all year, is currently the team to beat in the Atlantic 10 conference. Their 15-game winning streak is the fourth-longest in the nation.
With both teams competing for the top-seed in the conference, the Sunday contest should be an entertaining battle. The Colonials and Dukes are both undefeated thus far in A-10 play as they head into their 61st all-time matchup.
When the Colonials saw the Dukes last January, they dominated in the paint and commanded the offensive glass. GW got the 83–56 victory and extended its win streak at the time to 15 games en route to an A-10 Championship trophy. Standout senior forward Jonquel Jones scored a game-high 22 points and posted 17 rebounds.
Here is what to expect from the game:
The case for the Colonials:
The Colonials have finally found balance in their offensive attack, but GW is a defensively-minded squad, averaging 52.1 rebounds per game, and will need to play to its strengths to compete with the Dukes.
Jones leads the Colonials with an average of 17.1 points and 15.2 rebounds. If the Dukes are unable to limit Jones in the paint, she could have another big game.
Junior forward Caira Washington has also contributed to GW’s success early on in games, boasting a 51.2 percent field goal percentage this season.
Graduate student guard Lauren Chase has also been solid so far this year, showcasing her versatility on the court. Chase averages 5.5 assists per game. In the 30-point victory over Hartford earlier in the season, Chase notched a 12-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The case for the Dukes:
Duquesne has the fewest losses in the A-10 thanks to its consistency in the paint, and an explosive offense that has secured triumphs over fierce competition.
Duquesne averages a conference-high 75.4 points per game and has outscored conference opponents by 10 points or more in each game.
GW will need to keep senior guard April Robinson, who is averaging 14.6 per game and 7.7 assists per game, on its radar. Robinson received A-10 Co-Player of the Week honors on Nov. 3 after propelling her team to victory against Howard, North Carolina A&T and New Mexico. Over the three-game span, she averaged 18.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game.
The Dukes are coming off a 79–70 win over Rhode Island where Robinson scored 29 points and Amadea Szamosi posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. If the Dukes can box out and produce tight coverage against the height of the GW post players, they could achieve success on the boards.
The bottom line:
GW needs to have a seamless game, minimize turnovers and control the tempo to hand the Dukes their first conference loss. The Dukes will have to guard Jones tightly and get Robinson involved in this battle of the A-10’s best.
