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 GW's bid for a second straight NCAA Sweet 16 begins Saturday, March 22, against 11th-seeded Auburn in Stanford, CA. |
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No. 20/16 GW Will Face Auburn in First Round of 2008 NCAA Tournament in Stanford, CA
March 17, 2008
2008 NCAA Tournament Bracket | Ticket Information | 2008 NCAA Media Guide
WASHINGTON, DC - The No. 20/16 George Washington women's basketball team (25-6) was awarded a No. 6-seed in the Greensboro Region and will face 11th-seeded Auburn (20-11) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Stanford, CA on Saturday, March 22.
GW, which is making its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 15th overall, is 16-14 in 30 tourney games. The Colonials are 12-2 in first-round games, including a 76-67 victory against 12th-seeded Boise State last March.
GW advanced to the program's third NCAA Sweet 16 last season after knocking off fourth-seeded Texas A&M, 59-47, in the second round. The Colonials then lost to No. 1-seed North Carolina, 70-56, in the Dallas regional semifinal.
The Stanford sub-regional is comprised of third-seeded California and 14th-seeded San Diego.
The winner of the GW-Auburn game will meet the winner of the Cal-San Diego game in the second round on Monday in Stanford. The GW-Auburn game will tip at 2:00 pm ET and air on ESPN2 and the ESPN Family of Networks.
GW is 2-0 all-time against Auburn with both victories coming in the last two seasons. Redshirt junior Lisa Steele hit a game-winning three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to lift No. 20/19 GW to a 68-66 victory at No. 18 Auburn this past January. The Colonials also beat the Tigers, 62-51, at the Charles E. Smith Center last season.
GW enters the NCAA Tournament with a 25-6 overall record, marking the program's ninth consecutive season with 20-or-more victories. The Colonials earned a share of their seventh straight Atlantic 10 regular-season title with a 12-2 league mark, but fell in the A-10 Championship semifinals for the second consecutive season. GW has been ranked in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 throughout the season, including 10 weeks in the Top 15 and for a program-record 38 straight weeks dating back to the 2006-07 season.
Head coach Joe McKeown, who has led GW to all 15 of its NCAA appearances, is making his 17th trip to the `Big Dance' in his 22nd season as a head coach. McKeown led New Mexico State to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 1987 and 1988 before landing at GW for the 1989-90 season. He has amassed 507 victories in 22 seasons, including 439 wins and three Sweet 16 appearances in 19 years with the Colonials.
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2008 A-10 Player of the Year and three-time first team All-Conference selection Kimberly Beck leads the Colonials' starting lineup, which also features seniors Whitney Allen and Sarah-Jo Lawrence and juniors Jessica Adair and Antelia Parrish.
Adair, who leads GW in scoring at 15.3 points per game, was named to the All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive season. Lawrence was the league's Student-Athlete of the Year and a third team All-Conference pick and Allen was voted to the All-Defensive Team for the second year-in-a-row.
GREENSBORO BRACKET (Stanford, CA)
First Round (March 22, 2008)
#6 George Washington (25-6)
#11 Auburn (20-11)
#3 California (26-6)
#14 San Diego (19-12)