The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedi.net

DESPITE getting in foul trouble in the first half, Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones had another stellar performance in the second half to help the George Washington Colonials clinch their fifth Atlantic 10 Championship title.

The top seeded No.21/19 Colonials posted a 75-62 victory over second-seeded Dayton on Sunday in Richmond, Virginia enabled George Washington to win its first A-10 crown since 2003.

In the process, the Colonials (29-3) earns the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will learn its seeding and opponent on Monday, March 16, at 7pm on ESPN. The victory was the program-record 29th of the season for the Colonials, who have won eight in a row and 27 of 28 since Nov 24.

“It was a great game. We were down in the first half, but came back in the second half,” said Jones, who was named the most valuable player, adding to the list of her A-10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors she got just prior to the start of the tournament over the weekend.

“Winning the championship was great. It was bigger than any accolade that I got. I was just happy that I was able to do whatever was needed for u to win.”

The junior forward scored 16 of her game high 21 points in the second half as she turned her game around. She went 8-of-16 from the floor, including a career-high 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and added six rebounds and two blocked shots. She was the first Colonial to be named MOP since Ugo Oha in 2003, Jones averaged 17.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the three tournament games.

“I always say that if you want to be a selfish person, you can play tennis or run track and field or something like that,” Jones said. “In basketball, you need everybody in order to win.

“I felt a lot of people stepped up in the first half, especially when I was in foul trouble and had to sit out most of it. But in the second half, other people on the team stepped up and made big plays, so I felt everyone held up their part of the bargain and brought something to the table.”

Jones, the 21-year-old 6-feet, 4-inches criminal justice major, had a little more to offer the Colonials with her parents, Ettamae and Preston Jones, in the stands cheering her on.

“To win the regular season tournament and this championship just validates the level this team is playing and the commitment that everyone has,” said Jones, as she reflected on their trip to her hometown in Grand Bahama in November to win the Thanksgiving Tournament.

Nobody was more elated about the performance than Jonathan Tsipis, who was named the A-10 Coach of the Year.

“We were down eight at the half time with Jonquel in foul trouble,so I sat her for a pretty long time, but she responded very well in the second half,” he said. “I’m just so excited because when you look over 16 games, not counting our conference regular season, after two hard months, it was really hard to stay up for this tournament.

“I think the two best teams, George Washington and Dayton was playing for the championship, so I am really happy that we were able to respond in the second half to pull off the win by doing things that we have done all year with out defense to get us back into the game and give us a chance to win..”

When she got back in the game, coach Tsipis said Jones got hot from behind the three-point arch and it was a lot of fun to watch her as she helped to close out the game and championship win for the Colonials.

“When you are that type of player,, you can’t really help your team being on the bench, but she bounced right back when we started the second half and I think she impacted the game on both ends,” he said.

“She proved why she is the Player of the Year in the Conference as well as why she is the Defensive Player of the Year. She rebounded the ball and altered a lot of shots. I’m just really happy for her because it was her moment to shine.”

With George Washington on Spring Break, Jones and the Colonials will spend some time with their families and friends before they return to practice on Thursday as they get ready for the NCAA Championships.

“I think this is a well deserved break for them,” coach Tsipis said. “We’re just looking forward to the NCAA Tournament and hopefully we can continue this ride that we are enjoying with Jonquel Jones making a lot of things happen for us.”

The Colonials are the first No. 1 seed to win the A-10 title since Xavier in 2011, and it marks the fourth time GW has won both the Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships (1995, 1996, 2003).