Oct. 4, 2006

Washington, DC - The George Washington University women's basketball team is ranked No. 21 in Street & Smith's Sports Annuals College Basketball 2006-07 Yearbook, the magazine announced on Friday.

This year's edition of the magazine is slated to hit newsstands on October 10.

Head coach Joe McKeown returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from a team that finished 23-9 overall and made the program's 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 seasons last winter. The Colonials finished the season ranked No. 25 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll.

First-team All-Atlantic 10 selection Kimberly Beck, who is just the third player in league history to lead the conference in assists (5.53 apg) in back-to-back seasons, returns for her junior year. A-10 Sixth Player of the Year Sarah-Jo Lawrence, who paced the Colonials in scoring with 11.6 points per game as a sophomore in 2004-05, senior Kenan Cole and junior Whitney Allen also return to the backcourt.

Washington, DC, natives Jazmine and Jessica Adair are expected to replace all-league center Jessica Simmonds in the frontcourt. Jazmine was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team and both players' recorded double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament.

The team will play fellow Street & Smith's Preseason Top 10 representatives Maryland, Tennessee and Georgia as part of its non-conference slate.