The George Washington women’s basketball team closed out non-conference play and opened 2012 with a convincing 60-49 victory over district-rival American on Monday afternoon at Charles E. Smith Center.
GW (7-7) was led by senior Tara Booker and junior Megan Nipe. Booker scored 18 points for the second game-in-a-row to go with a game-high eight rebounds, while Nipe tied her career-high with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Junior guard Danni Jackson also reached double figures for the Colonials with 11 points along with five rebounds.
After trading baskets in the opening four minutes of action, GW unleashed a 20-5 run – including holding American (8-6) without a field goal for more than seven minutes – en route to a 26-15 halftime lead.
The Colonials’ strong defensive effort produced 11 turnovers and seven steals while holding the Eagles to just 25 percent (6-of-24) from the field during the opening 20 minutes.
GW then shot 50 percent (10-of-20) from the floor in the second half to fend off American’s rally. Booker netted 11 of her 18 in the second half and Jackson hit two threes on her way to 11 second-half points to pace the Colonials’ offense.
After conceding the first four points of the second half, the Colonials used a 6-0 run to pull ahead, 32-21, with 16 minutes left. However, American refused to back down and, led by three treys from Ti’Asia McGeorge, pulled within a possession of the lead at 41-38 with just over 10 minutes remaining. McGeorge and Sarah Kiely each scored 14 points to lead AU.
Nipe answered with four straight points and Booker drilled a three-pointer to ignite a 19-5 run over the next eight minutes that gave GW its largest lead of the game at 60-43 with 2:08 to play. Nipe netted eight of her season-high 18 points during the decisive run.
The Colonials finished the game with a 33-30 advantage in rebounds, including eight on the offensive end that translated into 13 second-chance points. Sophomore Chelisa Painter was instrumental on the glass, totaling seven rebounds (five offensive) and seven points in 20 minutes off the bench.
GW also held advantages with 17 points off turnovers – aided by 17 takeaways -and a 28-19 margin in bench points.
With the victory, the Colonials conclude their non-conference schedule with a 7-7 record for their best non-league mark since going 8-7 in the 2008-09 season. The Colonials also snapped a three-game losing streak to AU to close within 11-10 in the all-time series.
GW will open Atlantic 10 Conference play this Saturday at home against Fordham at 5 p.m., in a game that will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
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