The Tribune

SENIOR Jonquel Jones scored 23 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to lead the George Washington Colonials women’s basketball team to a 70-52 win over No. 25 Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center yesterday.

With its 10th straight win, GW improves to 15-3 overall and remains perfect in Atlantic 10 play at 5-0 while snapping Duquesne’s 15-game win streak and handing the Dukes (16-2, 4-1 A-10) their first loss in two months.

The Colonials also pick up their second win over a top-25 team this season after defeating No. 25/21 Iowa in double overtime on November 27.

A national player of the year candidate, Jones registered her 15th double-double of the season with game highs of 23 points and 18 rebounds and also swatted a Palumbo Center record seven blocked shots.

Junior Hannah Schaible scored 14 points and matched her career-best with 12 rebounds, with six coming on the offensive glass. Grad student Lauren Chase and junior Caira Washington chipped in 10 points apiece, and Chase dished a game-high six assists.

The Colonials won the battle of the boards for the 18th straight game to start the season, outrebounding Duquesne 55-37. GW also held a 36-20 advantage on points in the paint and a 19-10 edge on the fast break.

The Dukes entered the game as the A-10’s highest-scoring offence, averaging 75.4 points per game on a league-best 43.0 per cent shooting, but the Colonials held them to a season-low 52 points and 30.2 per cent from the floor. It marked the sixth time in the last seven games in which GW has held its opponent below 60 points.

Trailing by one after the first quarter, the Colonials opened the second period on a 9-2 run to take a 23-15 lead which they would not relinquish. GW was up 31-24 at halftime, then used a dominant third quarter to take control of the game.

The Colonials opened the third stanza with a flourish, making eight of their first 10 shots from the floor during a 19-5 run that turned a five-point lead into a 21-point cushion with five minutes to go in the period.

Washington scored eight points during the surge, and a pair of free throws by Jones with 3:30 remaining gave GW a game-high 52-29 advantage.

Deva’Nyar Workman paced the Dukes with 21 points off the bench, while Kadri-Ann Lass scored 13 points and added seven rebounds. GW held Duquesne’s leading scorer April Robinson without a point as she went 0-for-7 from the floor in the game.

The Colonials are scheduled to return to action 7pm Wednesday when they host A-10 rival Massachusetts at the Charles E Smith Center.