What: Women’s Basketball (12-3, 2-0 A-10) vs. Dayton (8-5, 1-1 A-10)

Where: UD Arena, Dayton, Ohio, CBSSN (TV)
When: Sunday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. EST

The Colonials arrive in Ohio after only one game at home, playing for their eighth consecutive victory and third Atlantic 10 win.

After winning the first two conference games by double-digits, the Colonials face their biggest A-10 challenge so far in the Flyers.

The last time that these two teams faced off was in the 2014-2015 A-10 Championship game. After being down by eight points at the half, then-junior forward Jonquel Jones was able to lead the Colonials to a 13-point victory behind her 21 points.

But it was Dayton who had the last laugh: the Flyers outlasted the Colonials by three rounds in the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s what to expect from the game:

The Case for the Colonials: After losing two games in a row for the first time in over a year, the Colonials have turned it around and found a way to notch their past seven games in the win column.
Give the credit to GW’s starting lineup. In the past few games they have stepped up on both sides of the court while still showing their rebounding dominance.

In the past four games, the Colonials have outshot their opponents while holding them to under 40 percent from the field.

A big key to the Colonials’ success has been Jones’ stellar play. In 12 of the past 13 games she has collected double-doubles and is consistently the statistical leader on the floor game to game.

Jones has continued her dominance all season, but recent success can be connected with strong performances from other members of the lineup.

Similar to sophomore guard Bri Cummings’ showing against Illinois or junior forward Caira Washington’s against Hartford, the Colonials will be looking for someone other than Jones to have a hot hand offensively against the Flyers.

The Case for Dayton: In the preseason polls, Dayton was selected to finish second in the Atlantic 10 behind the Colonials. Although their season has not all gone as planned, they are still the strong team that received the ranking originally and they have a ranked win over Louisville.

The Flyers are 4-1 at home and are coming off a difficult 1-2 road trip. Expect Dayton to come out strong and try to find their rhythm at home where they can pick up a win and move up the A-10 standings.

Senior guard Amber Deane leads the Flyers with 15.3 points per game. Deane is also one of the most well-rounded players for Dayton. She shoots 46 percent from the field and over 80 percent from the free-throw line and adds 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Fellow senior guard Kelley Austria is also a key contributor when she steps on the floor. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Austria has been out with a knee injury since early December.

Along with the Colonials, Dayton has a surplus of height on the roster and they are one of the few teams that can measure up height-wise to the GW frontcourt.

The Bottom Line: The advantage goes to GW because of the momentum they have going into this game. But this is likely to be a close game between two experienced teams, so look for the side that can play better defense for the entire 40 minutes.