Colonials Host Pirates in First Postseason Contest Since 2009
WASHINGTON - The George Washington 's basketball team welcomes East Carolina to the Charles E. Smith Center on Wednesday evening for the first round of the Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
GW (21-10) makes its first postseason appearance since 2009 after receiving a WNIT at-large bid. The Colonials are making their fourth trip (1993, 2002, 2009) to the WNIT.
GW has not played since falling to top-seeded Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals on March 8. GW was the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing in a tie for second place in the league standings at 11-5. The Colonials knocked off defending champion Saint Joseph's, 82-79, in overtime in the A-10 quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2008.
GW collected six A-10 postseason honors among four players, headlined by Rookie of the Year and All-Conference Third Team forward Caira Washington, who is averaging 11.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Jonquel Jones leads the Colonials in both scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.2 rpg) - the only player in the A-10 to average a double-double on the season - and was named to the Second Team. Grad student Danni Jackson joined Washington on the Third Team. She is averaging 12.9 points per game and ranks third in the league with 6.0 assists per contest, and her 185 dimes on the year are the third-highest single-season total in program history. In addition, junior Chakecia Miller was tabbed to the A-10 All-Defensive Team.
GW and East Carolina meet for the fourth time ever on Wednesday, and the Colonials hold a 2-1 series lead. The teams last met in November 2004. GW is 2-0 all-time against ECU at the Smith Center after also winning in February 1983. The Pirates' lone win in the series occurred in November 1983 in Greenville, N.C.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Heather Macy, East Carolina (22-8) earned an at-large bid to the WNIT for the second year in a row after placing fifth in Conference USA. The Pirates started the season 21-3 but have dropped five of their last six contests, including an 87-75 loss to 13th-seeded Florida International in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament.
All-Conference First Team selection Jada Payne paces the Pirates with 18.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, while Abria Trice, a member of the Second Team, averages 15.5 points per contest. The duo ranks sixth and 10th, respectively, among Conference USA scoring leaders. Payne is also second in the league in three-point percentage (.389).
Ondrea Shaw was tabbed to the C-USA All-Defensive Team, as she leads the league and ranks eighth nationally with 3.3 blocks per game.
ECU boasts one of the top offenses and defenses in Conference USA, averaging 72.7 points per game and holding opponents to 63.2 points per contest. The Pirates lead the league in field goal percentage defense (.367) and three-point percentage defense (.271).
In addition, East Carolina's rebounding numbers are very similar to GW. The Pirates rank second in C-USA in rebounding (43.1 rpg) while the Colonials are first in the A-10 (44.7 rpg), and each team leads its respective league in rebound margin (GW +6.5 rpg, ECU +6.1 rpg) and offensive rebounds (GW 17.3 rpg, ECU 17.1 rpg).
With a victory over East Carolina on Wednesday, the Colonials would face the winner of the first-round matchup between Villanova and Quinnipiac, which takes place on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia. Game date and location for second-round games have not yet been announced. Villanova (22-8) earned an at-large bid out of the BIG EAST, while Quinnipiac (21-12) is an at-large team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
GW (21-10) makes its first postseason appearance since 2009 after receiving a WNIT at-large bid. The Colonials are making their fourth trip (1993, 2002, 2009) to the WNIT.
GW has not played since falling to top-seeded Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals on March 8. GW was the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing in a tie for second place in the league standings at 11-5. The Colonials knocked off defending champion Saint Joseph's, 82-79, in overtime in the A-10 quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2008.
GW collected six A-10 postseason honors among four players, headlined by Rookie of the Year and All-Conference Third Team forward Caira Washington, who is averaging 11.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Jonquel Jones leads the Colonials in both scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.2 rpg) - the only player in the A-10 to average a double-double on the season - and was named to the Second Team. Grad student Danni Jackson joined Washington on the Third Team. She is averaging 12.9 points per game and ranks third in the league with 6.0 assists per contest, and her 185 dimes on the year are the third-highest single-season total in program history. In addition, junior Chakecia Miller was tabbed to the A-10 All-Defensive Team.
GW and East Carolina meet for the fourth time ever on Wednesday, and the Colonials hold a 2-1 series lead. The teams last met in November 2004. GW is 2-0 all-time against ECU at the Smith Center after also winning in February 1983. The Pirates' lone win in the series occurred in November 1983 in Greenville, N.C.
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Heather Macy, East Carolina (22-8) earned an at-large bid to the WNIT for the second year in a row after placing fifth in Conference USA. The Pirates started the season 21-3 but have dropped five of their last six contests, including an 87-75 loss to 13th-seeded Florida International in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament.
All-Conference First Team selection Jada Payne paces the Pirates with 18.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, while Abria Trice, a member of the Second Team, averages 15.5 points per contest. The duo ranks sixth and 10th, respectively, among Conference USA scoring leaders. Payne is also second in the league in three-point percentage (.389).
Ondrea Shaw was tabbed to the C-USA All-Defensive Team, as she leads the league and ranks eighth nationally with 3.3 blocks per game.
ECU boasts one of the top offenses and defenses in Conference USA, averaging 72.7 points per game and holding opponents to 63.2 points per contest. The Pirates lead the league in field goal percentage defense (.367) and three-point percentage defense (.271).
In addition, East Carolina's rebounding numbers are very similar to GW. The Pirates rank second in C-USA in rebounding (43.1 rpg) while the Colonials are first in the A-10 (44.7 rpg), and each team leads its respective league in rebound margin (GW +6.5 rpg, ECU +6.1 rpg) and offensive rebounds (GW 17.3 rpg, ECU 17.1 rpg).
With a victory over East Carolina on Wednesday, the Colonials would face the winner of the first-round matchup between Villanova and Quinnipiac, which takes place on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia. Game date and location for second-round games have not yet been announced. Villanova (22-8) earned an at-large bid out of the BIG EAST, while Quinnipiac (21-12) is an at-large team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).