No. 17 GW Pulls Away to Beat Saint Joseph's; Virginia Falls to No. 12 Duke

Jessica Adair scored 20 points to help No. 17 George Washington beat Saint Joseph's, 61-53, yesterday in Philadelphia.

Clinging to a 55-53 lead with 1 minute 29 seconds left, the Colonials (22-5, 10-2 Atlantic 10) scored the final six points of the game on a three-pointer by Antelia Parrish and free throws by Kimberly Beck.

Sarah Acker had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks (14-13, 6-6). Amy Wold and Timisha Gomez each added 10 points for Saint Joseph's. Gomez also had seven assists.

It was a sloppy game with each team turning the ball over 18 times. George Washington held a 20-18 halftime lead after shooting just 27 percent (8 for 30) in the first half.

¿ DUKE 78, VIRGINIA 70: Chante Black scored 15 of her 22 points in the second half, and Wanisha Smith added 16 points in her final home game to lift the No. 12 Blue Devils past the Cavaliers.

The Blue Devils (21-7, 10-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) wrapped up the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament, beating the Cavaliers for the ninth consecutive time at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the 14th straight game overall.

Duke led 31-30 at halftime before Virginia (20-8, 8-4) started the second half with an 8-0 spurt. The Cavaliers scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 38-31 lead two minutes in, and they stretched their lead to 42-33 on a pair of free throws by Lyndra Littles with 16:12 remaining.

But the Blue Devils responded by scoring on eight of 10 possessions. Black made all four of her field goal attempts, two of which resulted in three-point plays, as Duke cut Virginia's lead to 61-59.

Smith tied the game at 61 on a pair of free throws, and Duke regained the lead when Smith made a driving layup with 4:32 left.

The Cavaliers self-destructed down the stretch, committing turnovers on four consecutive possessions and missing a pair of free throws.

Monica Wright led Virginia with 23 points, and Aisha Mohammed contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds. Paulisha Kellum added 15 points for the Cavaliers, who finished with 22 turnovers against Duke's pressure.