Booker’s Double-Double Spurs Colonials to Home Comeback Win

Freshman guard Chakecia Miller looks to drive. | Alex Weihmann, District Radio Sports

Ben Topiel
Junior Correspondent

Coming off a dominant victory over Radford over the past weekend, the George Washington Colonials mounted a furious comeback on Wednesday to beat the Old Dominion Lady Monarchs in overtime, 58-52.  Senior forward Tara Booker and junior guard Danni Jackson netted 17 points each while freshman guard Chakecia Miller scored 14 off the bench.

After being down by as many as 10 points with 15:25 left in regulation, the Colonials started an 11-2 run highlighted by Miller’s game tying layup with 2:38 remaining and senior center Sara Mostafa’s only two points of the night came at an opportune time.  Mostafa’s basket with 22 seconds to go capped the run and sent the team into overtime.

In overtime, both teams exchanged baskets rapidly. After GW gained the lead on senior guard Tiana Myers’ layup with 2:20 left, Old Dominion’s Tia Lewis took it right back on the following possesion. But in the dwindling minutes of the second half, Booker hit the biggest shot of the night.

Booker, who had a double-double, had the same number of rebounds as she did points.

The game as a whole was sluggish offensively. The Colonials only shot 29.3% from the field, bested by Old Dominion by only one percent. GW turned the ball over 16 times, but caused ODU to cough up possession 21 times. The affair had 10 ties and eight lead changes.

With the victory, the Colonials earned their first back-to-back victories since February of 2011 when they defeated the Rhode Island Rams at home and then went on the road to beat the Saint Louis Billikens.

Tonight, the men will be facing the Kansas State Wildcats on the road at 8pm eastern, with the pre-game show at 7:45. Bryan Albin and Adam Kelsey will have the call. On Friday, the women will take their two-game winning steak to the Navy Classic, when they face Maine at 3:30pm. Doug Mogan and Dan Gutter will have the game in Annapolis.

Balanced Scoring Against Radford Gets Women Back on Track

Haley Milon
Sophomore Correspondent

The George Washington Colonials improved their record to 2-3 with an 83-59 routing of the Radford University Highlanders on Saturday, after GW went on a 23-0 run to begin the game.

The Colonials’ 23 point lead was spurred on by an offense that shot 50 percent for the game. Junior point guard Danni Jackson, who led the team with 14 points, was five for six in the first half and notched two three-pointers. After taking a 12-0 lead with 15:10 left in the first half, the Colonials maintained a double digit lead the entire game.

The Radford offense was powered by its backcourt, as junior guards Ashley Buckhannon and Da’naria Erwin-Spencer combined for 32 points with 19 and 13 respectively. GW’s defense limited the Highlanders’ shooting to 12 percent in the first half, with Erwin Spencer scoring a team-high five points before the intermission. Her layup with 10:13 left to play in the first half was the first Highlanders basket of the game, ending GW’s 23-0 run.

Sara Mostafa and Tara Booker both scored 11 points to propel the Colonials’ balanced attack early on. The two were a force in the paint, as Booker’s eight rebounds created several big possessions for GW. Senior guard Kristin Aldridge added eight points and four assists.

Rebounding was the Colonials’ only noticeable weakness, getting out-rebounded 49-44. Brooke Wilson led the team with 11 rebounds, but GW’s inability to create possessions forced the defense into a full court press. Ahead 69-43 with 3:33 left, the Colonials drew numerous fouls as the Highlanders became more aggressive.

The Colonials shot 46.7 percent from three and 87 percent (20 for 33) from the free-throw line, which both were season highs.

Head coach Mike Bozeman’s Colonials will take on the Old Dominion University Monarchs at 7 pm Wednesday at the Charles E. Smith Center. Mike Martone and Ben Silverstein will have the call for WRGW.

Smith Snipes Colonials in Home Opener

Redshirt junior forward Brooke Wilson, who had a career-high 17 points, drives down the lane. | Photo Credit: Alex Weihmann, WRGW District Radio Sports

Raynell Cooper
Freshman Correspondent

After opening the season with a strong 63-41 win at the University of Texas-Arlington, the George Washington Colonials suffered a 73-68 loss on Wednesday to the Morgan State Lady Bears at the Smith Center. Jamesia Smith led the scoring for the Bears putting up 16 points, including four first-half three-pointers, to help the Bears take down the Colonials in their home opener.

GW got two back-to-back steals with under 4:00 to go in the second half and senior forward Tara Booker and junior guard Danni Jackson both drained three-pointers in consecutive possessions, but the Lady Bears shot 13-19 from the free throw line in the second half to stave off the Colonials’ last-minute surge.

After the first half, the Colonials were down six to the Lady Bears following Smith’s fourth three-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer. Jackson said that the team’s slow start really came back to bite them.

“We just played really relaxed and not hard or aggressive in the first half,” she said, “and we tried to pick it up in the second half when it was too late.”

Jackson shot 4-10 from the field, and she didn’t get much help. Senior forward Tara Booker (who went 4-11) and junior forward Megan Nipe (shooting 4-15) also had off shooting nights. The team as a whole shot just 38.4% from the floor.

Coach Mike Bozeman placed the blame less on the players and more so on himself. He called the effective Morgan State offense troublesome, but blamed himself for the team’s slow start.

Morgan State, despite losing their top three scorers from last year, was able to win by a larger margin than they did against the Colonials in Miami last December.

The Colonials next play Saturday, when they host to Virginia Tech at 2pm.  Adam Kelsey and Mike Martenak will have the call after the pregame show at 1:45.

Women vs. URI

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- The WRGW Sports team