Last year’s women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament and tied the school record of 28 wins in a season. The nucleus of the team is back – just one senior graduated – and expectations are high. The Preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll ranks the Colonials #13 in the nation.

“Anytime you are coming off a big year and you return almost all of your team, you feel like there is more out there for you,” said Head Coach Joe McKeown, who was named Atlantic 10 coach of the year last season. “The schedule is tough and everything is in place for this to be a great year. We remind the team of that every day.”

The schedule includes a home game on Nov. 18 against national runner-up Rutgers, which will air on ESPNU, and match-ups against 12 other teams that qualified for post-season competition last year. Six of those teams competed in the NCAA Tournament.

GW is the unanimous favorite to win the Atlantic 10 Championship, according to a poll of conference coaches and media released in late October. This year’s team is led by senior point guard Kimberly Beck, who was named to the preseason first team All-Conference for the third straight season. Last year, she was also an Associated Press honorable mention All-American and finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award for the nation’s top point guard.

Other starters returning include junior Jessica Adair, who earned first team All-Atlantic 10 honors last season, her twin sister junior Jazmine Adair, senior Sarah-Jo Lawrence, who was voted to the preseason second team, and senior Whitney Allen, who was selected to the preseason All-Defensive team.

They may be the A-10 favorites, but McKeown is setting his sights well beyond the conference championship.

“I want to get to a Final Four before I die,” McKeown said. “I think every year this could be the year.”

The GW Alumni Association will be hosting a tailgate before the Nov. 18 home game against #3 Rutgers. Also, mark your calendar for the Think Pink promotion – honoring women’s fight against cancer – during the women’s game against Richmond February 10. There will be an Alumni Association tailgate before the game and you can also check the spirit program web site for upcoming information about the Think Pink promotion.

The GW women defeated the DT-3 All-Stars 95-68 in an exhibition game on Nov. 2. The regular season opens with a game at Maryland-Baltimore County Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Season tickets can be purchased by contacting the GW Athletics Ticket Office at 202-994-6050 or gwcoltix@gwu.edu. Individual game tickets can be purchased at GW’s Marvin Center TicketMaster (located on the lower level), through TicketMaster outlets at 202-397-SEAT (7328), or by visiting TicketMaster.com.