Cold Second Half Sends GW Women’s Basketball to 55-47 Loss at Auburn Mostafa Leads Colonials With 13 Points; Jackson Adds 11
Nov. 23, 2011
AUBURN, Ala. – The George Washington women’s basketball team closed the first half with a 10-3 run to take a seven-point lead into halftime but was unable to maintain the momentum in the second half, as the Colonials fell to Auburn, 55-47, on Wednesday evening at Auburn Arena.
GW (1-3) opened the game on an 8-4 run and maintained the lead for nearly 28 minutes of play before trailing for the first time at the 12:29 mark of the second half. Senior Sara Mostafa posted nine first-half points in just five minutes of action as she was held on the bench due to early foul trouble. She finished with a team-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting to lead the Colonials.
With the score tied 16-16 with just over five minutes left in opening period, the Colonials erupted for a 10-3 run to close the first half. GW scored eight straight points using three points from freshman Chakecia Miller and layups from redshirt junior Brooke Wilson and senior Tara Booker] to open a 21-16 advantage, a lead they stretched to 26-19 heading into the break.
The Colonials shot 40 percent (9-of-22) from the field in the first half while holding the Tigers to 25 percent (7-of-28), including 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. The Colonials had struggled in the first half in their past two meetings against Auburn, shooting just 16.7 percent in 2009 and 17.9 percent in last season’s game, but appeared to correct the trend on Wednesday evening.
Auburn (3-1) responded with a 10-2 run out of halftime to take its first lead of the contest at the 12:29 mark of the second half. The Tigers expanded the lead to as many as five with five minutes to go but junior Danni Jackson scored six of the Colonials’ next eight points to pull GW back within two points at 41-39 with 6:29 remaining. Jackson finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
Auburn gained more separation with a 6-0 run across the next five minutes and closed out the Colonials down the stretch at the free-throw line to escape with a 55-47 victory. GW shot just 25 percent (6-of-24) from the field in the second half while the Tigers rebounded from their poor first-performance to shoot 44 percent (11-of-25) in the final 20 minutes. For the game, GW shot 32.6 percent (15-of-46) compared to Auburn’s 34 percent (18-of-53).
The Colonials finished with an 18-14 advantage in points in the paint and also scored seven second-chance points off of eight offensive rebounds.
Auburn was led by Blanche Alverson (14 points, 2-of-3 three pointers), Tyrese Tanner (11 points) and Hasina Muhammad (10 points).
George Washington returns to action on Saturday afternoon to host Radford at the Charles E. Smith Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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