Dec. 1, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The host Colonials made 20 more free throws than their visitors, and George Washington (3-1) defeated No. 24 Villanova (3-2) 62-52 on Wednesday evening at the Smith Center. The Colonials made 19-of-24 free throws over the final 20 minutes to seal the victory.

George Washington stretched a 25-20 halftime lead to a 41-29 advantage with 13:04 remaining, and then held a double-digit margin for much of the second half. The Colonials led 53-41 before the Wildcats surged back into the game with a 9-3 spurt that cut the deficit to 56-50 with 3:08 to play. Villanova then got the defensive stop it needed, but turned the ball over on its next possession. The Wildcats then committed a foul that led to a pair of free throws by George Washington, and the Colonials went on to make 4-of-5 foul shots down the stretch to thwart any further Villanova comebacks.

Junior guard Jenna Viani (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led the Wildcats with 14 points, and added four rebounds and four assists in a team-high 35 minutes of work. Sophomore forward Jackie Adamshick (Allentown, Pa.) chipped in 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and junior forward Liad Suez (Even-Yehuda, Israel) added eight points, three rebounds and three assists.

Senior center Jessica Simmonds was one of three George Washington players in double figures, and posted a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Senior forward Anna Montanana added 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while guard Kenan Cole scored 12 points.

In the first half, Villanova built a quick 13-5 lead in the first six minutes of the game, but the Colonials roared back with a 13-0 run spanning 3:35 to go ahead 18-13 midway through the period. George Washington took advantage of cold shooting by the Wildcats in the first half to build the five-point lead at intermission. Villanova hit on only 27 percent (8-of-30) of its field goals in the opening stanza, including 13 percent (1-of-8) shooting from long range.

For the game, the Wildcats were held to 32.8 percent (21-of-64) shooting from the field, including 19.0 percent (4-of-21) from three-point range. George Washington connected on 37.0 percent (17-of-46) of its shots while making 40.0 percent of its threes (2-of-5). Meanwhile, the Colonials made 26-of-32 (81.3%) free throws, compared to 6-of-7 (85.7%) by the Wildcats. George Washington had a 43-34 rebounding edge.

Villanova concludes its five-game road trip on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a Big 5 showdown against Penn at the Palestra.