Colonials Still Feel A Tournament Jolt

Four Seniors Ready for Final Appearance

Every year she has been at George Washington, Sarah-Jo Lawrence has gone to the NCAA tournament. And even though this will be her fourth tournament in as many years, the feeling never gets old.

"It's really cool just to walk into a huge atmosphere like the NCAA. You can't explain it," Lawrence said. "You walk into the gym and practice, [and think], 'Man, this is it.' This whole aura of playing in the NCAA tournament and winning there. It's just an awesome feeling."

Far from being jaded by their past experiences, the sixth-seeded Colonials (25-6), who play No. 11 seed Auburn (20-11) today in Stanford, Calif., are as enthusiastic as first-timers. And for the four seniors who will be making their final trip to the NCAA tournament, this one is even more special.

"It's our last time so I'm trying to make it a little bit more memorable than the ones past," point guard Kim Beck said.

Few teams in this year's NCAA tournament have as much experience in the event as GW. Forward Whitney Allen has been to five tournaments, the first as a redshirt freshman. Beck has started four tournaments in a row. Jessica Adair is playing in her third tournament. Of the starting five, only forward Antelia Parrish, a transfer from Prince George's Community College, is making her NCAA tournament debut.

"When you have a group that's been together for so long and basically been on the floor together for so long . . . I just hope for all those guys, all four of them and to a certain extent [redshirt junior] Lisa Steele has been with them the whole time, I just want to see them have some fun in the NCAA tournament," GW Coach Joe McKeown said. "You know, it's a special group. It's a group you cheer for because they're such good kids."

It also has been one of the more successful groups in school history. GW has gone 54-10 the past two seasons, matching its victory total from 1995-97. Beck and Lawrence have become the third-most prolific scoring duo in school history, combining for more than 2,700 points. Beck was named the Atlantic 10 player of the year, and Lawrence was selected the A-10 student-athlete of the year. And three players have reached 1,000 career points: Beck, Lawrence and Adair.

GW is in the unusual position of playing a team in the tournament that it already met during the regular season. The Colonials beat then-ranked No. 18 Auburn, 68-66, in Alabama on Jan. 3. Steele sank a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to lift GW to the victory. The Colonials are 4-0 against Southeastern Conference teams the past two years.

"I think this is kind of working to our advantage," Allen said of playing Auburn for the second time. "We know what we're going into. We have a feel for the team."

Like last year, GW must travel to California for its first-round game. A year ago, the Colonials went to Los Angeles where they knocked off Boise State and Texas A&M to advance to the region semifinals. Although McKeown was disappointed the committee shipped his team out west for the second straight year while keeping A-10 rivals Xavier and Temple closer to home, the players are looking forward to their cross-country journey.

"We love California," said Lawrence, who has family living in the state. "We have a special connection to it. We always want to stay close to where our fans are, but sometimes it feels really good to go away."

Having been knocked out of the tournament in the first or second round in seven of its last eight appearances, GW wants nothing more than to make a deep run. Advancing to the round of 16 last year was nice, but the Colonials have every intention of going even further this year. A trip to the regional finals or a Final Four appearance would further enhance this group's already impressive legacy.

"Because I won't be coming back, this one is going to mean a lot more," Allen said. "It's your final one so you always want to go out with a bang. I want to perform as well as I can so we all get to achieve our goals."