For the second consecutive year and the sixth time overall, the George Washington women's basketball team is the Atlantic 10 Tournament champion after defeating Duquesne 63-60 in the title game Sunday afternoon.
The co-regular season champions and tournament's top overall seed, GW advances to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
GW (26-6) now awaits Selection Monday when they learn which team, when and where they will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The women's tournament brackets will be broadcast at 7 p.m. March 14 on ESPN.
Hannah Schaible led the way in the title game with a team-high 17 points in 36 minutes for the Colonials en route to All-Tournament Team honors, while junior classmate Caira Washington claimed the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award after yet another big game in the post. Ms. Washington scored nine points down low and grabbed 12 rebounds, second only to last year's Most Outstanding Player Jonquel Jones, who pulled down 15 rebounds and chipped in 10 points with six blocks on the defensive end. Ms. Jones was the third Colonial named to the All-Tournament Team.
Behind the inside prowess of Ms. Washington and Ms. Jones, GW outrebounded Duquesne, 45-33 and doubled-up the Dukes in points in the paint, 32-16. The Colonials also used a familiar formula to snag the tight affair, a suffocating defense that yielded just five fourth quarter points.
In a game that featured eight ties and 11 lead changes, it was Ms. Schaible who gave the Colonials the final lead change with 5:28 to play with a mid-range jumper that put GW up 59-57. From there GW allowed Duquesne just three points for the duration of the contest and forced a desperation three-point try at the buzzer from Duquesne's April Robinson, the A-10 Co-Player of the Year.
GW held Ms. Robinson, the conference's seventh leading scorer at 15.3 points per game during the regular season, to eight points on 3-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-9 from three-point range. Deva'Nyar Workman, an A-10 First Team selection, led the Dukes with 19 points but had to work for her points in a 5-of-18 shooting performance.
Lauren Chase keyed GW's offensive attack with 10 points and a game-high eight assists, while also corralling five rebounds. Brianna Cummings was also critical to the Colonials' offense as her 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting kept the game close before GW's fourth quarter defensive stand.
For the second straight year, GW trailed at halftime in the finals, this time facing a 41-34 deficit at the intermission.
After Ms. Schaible's go-ahead jumper just before the under 5:00 media timeout in the fourth quarter, it was Ms. Jones who carried GW to victory the rest of the way. The senior National Player of the Year candidate scored GW's final four points, including a step-back jumper on the baseline with 2:02 to play just before the expiration of the shot clock to give GW a six point lead, its largest lead of the game.
GW now sets its sights on the NCAA Tournament as it seeks to advance beyond the first round after getting upset as a six-seed in the 2015 Tournament by Gonzaga.
