Led by Kimberly Beck, George Washington recovered from a tough loss with two impressive victories over Atlantic 10 opponents this past week.

The Colonials (22-5, 10-2 A-10) defeated Saint Louis (10-17, 5-7 A-10), 82-58, and slipped by Saint Joseph’s (14-13, 6-6 A-10) by a margin of eight points.

The Colonials began the week suffering an upset at the hands of St. Bonaventure (18-9, 6-6 A-10), who rattled George Washington out of its No. 1 spot in the conference. Prior to the game, GW had one loss in the Atlantic 10.

Beck was recently named one of 10 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which is given to the top point guard in the country. She had the honor of being one of the three finalists last year, but fell short.

A-10 darkhorse

Although the Bonnies can’t gain much ground in the standings with two games remaining in the regular season, they are in contention for an A-10 Tournament bye. Their win over the Colonials, followed by a victory, 64-63, against the Billikens, puts them in contention for a spot in the conference tournament in a close race.

Xavier keeps pace

With a 10-2 record in the conference, Xavier is tied for the top spot in the A-10. The Musketeers started the week with a big win over Charlotte, continuing to be a force in the conference with Temple and GW.

All three teams are tied with 10-2 records in the A-10 and clinched first-round byes in the conference tournament.

Xavier’s win over Charlotte was the first of three wins for the Musketeers this past week. They also defeated La Salle and Fordham.

Xavier freshman center Ta’Shia Phillips earned A-10 Rookie of the Week honors, registering a double-double in both games this past week. She averaged 16 points and 11.5 rebounds in those games. She has now won the award 11 times, and leads the league with 16 double-doubles.

The 12 spot in the A-10

Temple (17-11, 10-2 A-10) began the week with a 74-66 win over Duquesne. This puts the Dukes, UMass and La Salle in a three-way tie for the 11th spot in the conference. One of these teams will not advance and will stand alongside Fordham, who lurks at the bottom of the standings with a conference-worst 0-12 record (0-27 overall).

La Salle and Duquesne have a crucial game on Feb. 27 that could decide which team makes it into the tournament. T he recent success for the Explorers (they’ve won three of their last four games) can largely be attributed to the play from forward Carlene Hightower. Hightower won A-10 Player of the Week honors this past week. She averaged 22.5 points and 11 rebounds. She dominated against Rhode Island, scoring half of La Salle’s 64 points in the victory over the Rams. Oliver Gasior can be reached at [email protected].