The Tribune

THE front court trio of junior Jonquel Jones, sophomore Caira Washington and freshman Kelli Prange combined for 52 points to lead the No. 24/23 George Washington women’s basketball team past Atlantic 10 rival Fordham (83-65) at the Charles E Smith Center on Saturday afternoon.

GW improves to 24-3 overall and 13-1 in Atlantic 10 play. The Colonials can clinch at least a share of the A-10 regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Championship with a win over Richmond on Thursday night.

Naismith Trophy candidate Jones scored a game-high 22 points and set a programme record with a perfect 10-for-10 shooting performance. Anna Montanana set the previous mark at 8-for-8 in 2003. Jones, who added six rebounds in the game, scored 18 points, including both of her three-pointers, in the second half and did all her damage in just 18 minutes of action.

Washington tallied 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with 14 points coming in the first half, while Prange had 12 points on 5-of-8 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and added a game-high seven rebounds off the bench. Senior Chakecia Miller was the fourth Colonial in double figures with 10 points to go with five assists and four steals, and sophomore Hannah Schaible chipped in six points, seven assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

Washington scored eight of GW’s first 10 points, and the Colonials took an early 18-9 lead with a 14-5 run. Fordham (17-10, 9-5 A-10) brought it back within four, but GW scored six straight points to go up by double digits and force a Fordham timeout. The Rams managed to get within three points with under a minute to play in the half, but a three-pointer by Prange and a layup by senior Lauren Chase just before the buzzer gave the Colonials a 41-35 lead at the break.

A three-pointer by Fordham’s Samantha Clark made it a five-point game a minute into the second half, but GW answered with back-to-back threes by sophomore Shannon Cranshaw and Prange for an 11-point advantage, 49-38.

After sitting out for five minutes after picking up her third foul, Jones re-entered the game at the 13:14 mark and proceeded to score 16 of GW’s next 18 points over a five-minute stretch including 14 in a row as the Colonials broke the game open with a 20-6 run, taking a game-high 25-point lead, 77-52, and Fordham never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.

GW scored 83 points and shot 52.2 per cent (35-67) from the floor against one of the nation’s top defences, as Fordham entered the game ranking 11th in the nation in scoring defence, having allowed just 53.3 points per game, and ranked 18th in field goal percentage defence (.356).

The Colonials dominated inside with a 42-22 advantage in the paint and won the battle of the boards for the 25th time in 27 games, outrebounding the Rams (41-36). Emily Tapio and Danielle Burns led four Rams in double figures with 12 points apiece, and Tapio added six assists. Clark finished with 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds.