The top-seeded and reigning Atlantic 10 Champion George Washington University women's basketball team routed George Mason 78-48 Friday afternoon at the Richmond Coliseum to advance to the semifinals of the 2016 A-10 championship.
The Colonials will play the winner of the St. Bonaventure vs. VCU game at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Richmond Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on CBSSN. GW (24-6 overall) is now 38-28 all-time in the conference tournament and will look to advance to the A-10 Championship game for the second consecutive season.
Highlighting the contest was the return to action of Jonquel Jones, last year's A-10 Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player in the conference tournament. Ms. Jones had missed the previous 10 games due to injury.
In her return, Ms. Jones scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a reserve role. She was among four Colonials to score in double figures.
GW was led by Caira Washington, a first team all A-10, who registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The junior from Brandywine, Md., led all players in scoring and rebounding.
GW controlled the contest from the outset and held a 19-12 edge after the first quarter, which was extended to a 40-25 halftime cushion. The Colonials went on to route the Patriots in the second half, seeing their lead swell to 32 at its largest before settling on the eventual 30-point victory margin. The GW defense limited George Mason to seven fourth quarter points.
Behind Ms. Washington and Ms. Jones, GW outrebounded Mason 51-34, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive boards. The Colonials' low post dominance also gave the top seed a 40-24 edge in points in the paint.
Kelli Prange also played a pivotal role in GW's low post game, with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Brianna Cummings chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Lauren Chase facilitated the offense for GW with seven assists with just two turnovers.
Shannon Cranshaw (nine points on 3-of-5, 3-point shooting) and Hannah Schaible (eight points, six rebounds) just missed cracking the double-digit scoring mark for the Colonials, while Mason's Kara Wright and Kristi Mokube paced the Patriots with a dozen points apiece.