By GW Sports
Junior Jonquel Jones scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the second half to lead the top-seeded George Washington University women's basketball team to its fifth Atlantic 10 championship title with a 75-62 victory Sunday over second-seeded University of Dayton.
With its first A-10 crown since 2003, GW (29-3) earns the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The team will learn its seeding and opponent when the brackets for the women’s tournament are announced 7 p.m. March 16 on ESPN.
The victory was the program-record 29th of the season for the Colonials, who have won eight in a row and 27 of 28 since Nov. 24.
The A-10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Ms. Jones added Most Outstanding Player to her list of accolades this season. She scored 21 points on 8-of-16 from the floor, including a career-high 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point line. She added six rebounds and two blocked shots. The first Colonial to be named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player since Ugo Oha in 2003, Ms. Jones averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the three tournament games.
"I am excited that our team added another chapter to the tradition that is GW Women's Basketball by defeating Dayton to win the A-10 Tournament Championship," said Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis following the victory. (Photo/Atlantic 10)
Ms. Jones was named to the All-Tournament Team as were sophomores Caira Washington and Hannah Schaible. Ms. Washington scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, including seven offensive boards against the Flyers to finish the tournament averaging 14.7 points, 9 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Ms. Schaible averaged 12.3 points, 8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the tournament. She scored seven points and grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds against Dayton.
GW shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and limited Dayton to just 24.2 percent from the floor after the Flyers made 48.5 percent of their shots in the first half.
The Colonials outrebounded the Flyers, 56-34, including 27-13 advantage on the offensive glass. It was the 30th time in 32 games GW has outrebounded its opponent.
The Colonials are the first No. 1 seed to win the A-10 title since Xavier University in 2011. The victory marks the fourth time GW has won both the Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships (1995, 1996, 2003).