George Washington rallies by Duquesne for NCAA bid

Mar 6, 2016, 06:54 pm

RICHMOND, Va. -- Hannah Schaible scored 17 points, Brianna Cummings had 15, and top-seeded George Washington held Duquesne scoreless for more than seven minutes in the final quarter to rally for a 63-60 victory and the Colonials' second consecutive Atlantic 10 women's tournament championship Sunday.

Jonquel Jones added 10 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks for George Washington (26-6), which claimed its sixth A-10 title. The Colonials trailed almost throughout but outscored the Dukes 11-5 in the final quarter.

Deva'Nyar Workman led the Dukes (27-5) with 18 points and Angela Staffileno had 11, but Duquesne, making its first appearance in the championship game, missed 18 of 19 shots in the final quarter, including seven 3-pointers, as it saw a 55-52 lead evaporate.

George Washington slowly erased a seven-point halftime deficit in the third quarter, finally drawing even at 52-52 on Lauren Chase's layup with 19 seconds to go.

But the Dukes' April Robinson, co-player of the year in the league, rattled in her first basket since the first quarter, and her team's 11th 3-pointer, just before the buzzer to give the Dukes a 55-52 lead.

The Dukes trailed 32-31 before going on a 10-2 run to close the half. Kadri-Ann Lass started the burst with a bucket in the lane, Workman added a 3-pointer and a driving score, and Staffileno capped the half with Duquesne's seventh 3-pointer of the opening 20 minutes.

TIP-INS

Duquesne: The Dukes missed 10 consecutive shots late in the first quarter and held the lead almost through the drought because George Washington missed three shots and turned the ball over three times before Kelli Prange tied the game at 13 with a basket. ... The Dukes led at halftime despite being outrebounded 20-11 by the much taller Colonials.

George Washington: The Colonials had 10 turnovers by halftime and forced just two giveaways by the Dukes.

UP NEXT

Duquesne will await an at-large postseason invitation.

George Washington is heading to the NCAA tournament.