Update –Maureen Hester’s free throws made it 63-59, and the Colonials have officially fallen to Xavier 63-59. Quite a tough loss for GW seniors, as they’ll never be able to say they won an A-10 postseason Championship. More in tomorrow Hatchet.
Update –Jerri Taylor and Ta’Shia Phillips both hit free throws, but Kim Beck just hit a three with five seconds remaining. Score is 61-59 Xavier.
Update –Xavier’s Special Jennings just hit a running jumper off the backboard to put Xavier up by three. Kim Beck then missed a three-pointer with 13 seconds left. Xavier ball on their baseline.
Update — With Xavier leading by two, Beck attempted to take a charge on the baseline from Xavier’s Jerri Taylor. From my vantage point, it looked like she had her feet set, but the referee called a block on Beck. On the other end of the floor, Parrish has just hit a baseline jumper to cut Xavier’s lead to one.
Update, 4:09 p.m. — A clutch three-pointer from Lisa Steele has brought GW back, and free-throws from Jessica Adair put the Colonials in the lead with 3:56 to play. Ta’Shia Phillips and Amber Harris have three fouls each for Xavier.
Update, 3:52 p.m. — The Colonials had gotten a handle on the game, but Xavier has surged back and now leads by one. It seems like it’s going to be quite hard for the Colonials to win this one with their big post options severely limited by fouls. Ten minutes remain.
Update, 3:35 p.m. — A rough start for GW, as Jessica and Jazmine Adair both have four fouls. We’ve been seeing a lot of Jamila Bates, but Jazmine Adair is now back in the game with 12 minutes to go.
Update, 3:30 p.m. — At the half, GW leads 30-24. The game has maintained, if not increased, its physicality, and defense is certainly taking center stage here, as the two teams have committed a combined 20 turnovers.
Momentum will likely be huge in the second half, and so it’ll be important for GW to hit some shots early if they want to put some distance between themselves and Xavier.
Update, 3:11 p.m. — This game has gotten increasingly physical, and both teams have committed at least eight fouls. For GW, Jessica Adair, Allen, and Parrish have two each, while Jazmine Adair has three.
Update, 2:50 p.m. — A Whitney Allen three-pointer has put GW up 15-14 over the Musketeers with 11:22 to play in the first half. Antelia Parrish leads GW in scoring with 8 points, and hit her first three attempts of the day.
In recent games, it’s become more evident that for GW to be successful, they’ve got to come strong right out of the gates. While you couldn’t say that GW has been dominating this game, they have been playing fairly well, so it looks like this one might stay close the whole way.
Update, 2:26 p.m. — So far today the real battle at Saint Joseph’s has been between the GW and Xavier bands, but just a few minutes remain before the tip. The Colonials always look like a sizeable team whenever they take the floor, but Xavier’s Amber Harris (6-foot-5) and Ta’Shia Philips (6-foot-6) look pretty big as well. With such a match-up down low, you’d think that if GW guard’s Kim Beck and Sarah-Jo Lawrence can have a hot shooting day, this one could turnout well for GW.
I’m here at a (dryer) Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, where Temple has just outlasted an end of the game Dayton run and now holds one of two championship berths. GW and Xavier will take the court for warmups in just a few minutes, and tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Today’s match-up pits two big-bodied teams against each other and looks to be tough win for either team. The Colonials do hold both victories in the team’s last two meetings, however.
Look for more as we get closer to tip.
