With two wins under its belt, the No. 9-ranked Maryland women’s basketball team is taking a short trip to Foggy Bottom to face the George Washington Colonials on Wednesday night in a Big Ten-Atlantic 10 matchup.
The Terps (2-0) and Colonials (1-1) both have some momentum coming into this game. Maryland defeated Dayton, 82-71, thanks to junior guard Kaila Charles’ 22-point performance, and the Colonials downed Princeton, 64-49, with senior guard Mei-Lyn Bautista and sophomore guard Lexus Levy combining for 28 points.
In addition to Charles’ big night, four other Terps finished the night in double figures — freshman guard Taylor Mikesell scored 15 points, junior guard Blair Watson and freshman forward Shakira Austin each had 14 apiece and junior forward Stephanie Jones finished with 11.
Watson, who came off the bench after the Flyers started the game off on a 6-0 run, added a spark to the offense that helped the Terps gain a substantial lead in the first half.
The freshman duo of Mikesell and Austin shined in the exhibition games before the season, and that pattern carried over to the regular season.
In the Terps season opener against Coppin State, Mikesell led the scoring with 18 points, and Austin had the most rebounds in the team, 21, and also added 12 points.
Austin’s performances in the Terps’ first two games earned her the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor.
The Terps lead the all-time series with GW, 6-1, and defeated the Colonials 80-54 last season as Watson put up 19 points. In the two team’s series history, the Terps have only visited the Colonials two times, the last time being in 2014 when then-No. 9 Maryland defeated GW, 75-65.
The Colonials boast a commanding win over Princeton, an Ivy League Conference favorite. Bautista put up 15 points, five steals, three assists and three rebounds, and Levy’s 13 points were good for a career best, but it was really the GW defense that secured the win.
The Colonials stuffed Princeton’s shooting to only 29 percent from the floor, and 18.4 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Maryland’s high-scoring offense and GW’s stifling defense will clash in D.C. on Wednesday, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
Hannah Fields
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