The George Washington women’s basketball team inched ahead another notch in the latest national rankings this week, moving from No. 20 to No. 19. The Colonials (9-2) have progressed steadily, advancing an average of one position weekly.
That’s good enough for respect, but not headlines.
“Make it interesting, we gotta get famous, man,” said a smiling senior guard Kimberly Beck after Saturday’s 62-51 victory over Auburn, responding to head coach Joe McKeown’s astonishment upon realizing his team had allowed a 17-point first-half lead to slip to just one before pulling away late.
The Colonials are off to their fifth-best start in history, thanks in large part to a balanced offense that boasts four players scoring in double-digits.
Junior forward Whitney Allen (Woodbridge/Woodbridge High) isn’t one of those four, scoring just six points a game.
But against the Tigers, including 6-foot-4 DeWanna Bonner and 6-7 Keke Carrier, the 5-11 Allen had 12 rebounds, herthird double-figure rebounding performance of the season.
“[Height] is irrelevant to Whitney. You could be 10 feet tall and she’ll still out-rebound you,” said Beck. “She’s like the heart and soul of this team.”
Allen also limited Bonner, a 17.3 points per game scorer, to just 10 points.
“Since the season’s started, she’s had to guard an array of great players,” said McKeown. “I had her guarding [Maryland’s] Crystal Langhorne, I had her guarding [Tennessee’s] Candice Parker, DeWanna Bonner … Whitney’s used to covering that caliber of player. She’s our shutdown defender.”
Guard play continues to be George Washington’s strong suit. The starting backcourt tandem of Beck (12 ppg) and junior guard Sarah-Jo Lawrence (14.5 ppg) shoots over 46 percent combined from the field. Senior guard Kenan Cole (11.5 ppg) has also improved over last season, but she’s just 11-for-30 in the last two games.
“Sometimes she gets off-balance, and she takes some quick shots. I need her to shoot 50 percent from the field, maybe higher. Some of that is shot selection,” said McKeown of Cole. “The one thing she has done a better job of from last year is improve her three-point range. She’s hitting dagger threes now.”
McKeown set for surgery
George Washington head coach Joe McKeown was scheduled for surgery Monday after rupturing his right patellar tendon last Thursday.
“I figured I couldn’t keep up with the game, officials, timeouts, and stuff [if I sat down], and I didn’t want to miss stuff,” said McKeown, who was on the sidelines with crutches against Auburn.
McKeown will be fitted with a full-length cast after surgery, but he does expect to travel to San Diego for the Colonials next game on Dec. 28 vs. Georgia.
