Posted 12 p.m. Jan. 19 — There were 15 lead changes between GW and the Temple Lady Owls in Friday’s home game, but only one mattered: Anna Montanana’s buzzer-beating put-back off Ugo Oha’s missed three that gave the Colonials a 54-53 win.

GW (10-6, 5-0 Atlantic 10) took the lead after Marsheik Witherspoon’s lay-up tied the game and Elena Vishniakova’s basket made it 50-48 with just over two minutes remaining.

Temple’s Lisa Jackubowicz sank two free throws and chipped in a rebound to put Temple (9-7, 4-1 A-10) up 53-52. As GW inbounded the ball with nine seconds left, Oha recovered a near steal by Temple and put up a three pointer with four seconds left. When Oha’s shot bounced off the rim, it looked like the game would end with GW one point down. But Montanana was in perfect position for the rebound and the put back.

“Temple brings out a lot of emotion, but you have to be able to keep your poise,” head coach Joe McKeown said of the Colonials dropping their late-game lead.

The excitement of the game’s final minutes contrasted the game’s slow start. Down 5-0 after the first two minutes, the Colonials recovered and began a 13-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 19-14.
It was a defensive battle, with the Colonials taking a 19-16 lead into the lockeroom.

The low score was a tribute to Colonials defense, which held the Owls to 19 percent shooting, well off the team’s season average of more than 30 percent. They held leading scorers Stacey Smalls, Athena Christoforakis and Natalia Issac to a combined 12 points in the first half.

Vishniakova exploded in the second half, scoring 16 of her 21 points to keep the Colonials in the game. Witherspoon was the only other Colonial in double digits with 10. Temple succeeded in shutting down Cathy Joens — she did not score.