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WASHINGTON -- When womens basketball players at George Washington learned this past offseason that the school had named a new coach for their program, they quickly turned to their cell phones and a team group chat to disseminate any information they could dig up on the hire.It didnt take long before a string of impressive YouTube highlights of a quick and crafty 5-foot-6 guard from UConn began to circulate. The team sentiment quickly swung from curiosity to shock and excitement.In the team group message we talked like, Are you kidding me, this stud is going to be our coach? senior guard Hannah Schaible said.The stud was 1996 Wade Trophy winner Jennifer Rizzotti, who in April signed on as coach at George Washington after 17 seasons at Hartford, where she won 316 games en route to becoming the winningest coach in America East Conference history. Rizzotti is George Washingtons 10th coach and first female coach since Jennifer Bednarek in the 1988-89 season.For many, Rizzottis departure from Hartford -- which she led to five conference championships and six NCAA tournament appearances -- was received with the same level of shock as that of her newly inherited roster. Rizzotti, 41, had said that few schools could get her to uproot her family, which includes two sons and husband Bill Sullivan, who joins her on the bench in Foggy Bottom as an associate head coach.George Washington, however, was on that selective list, especially after coach Jonathan Tsipis had rebuilt the Colonials in his four seasons there before leaving to coach Wisconsin in March.I wanted to go to a program that was successful, rather than a program that I had to rebuild, so that initially made the job attractive to me -- because the coach was leaving for a bigger job and not leaving because he was fired, Rizzotti said. Theres already an established winning culture here and a foundation of doing things the right way.Geno Auriemma, Rizzottis longtime mentor after playing for him at UConn and then serving as an assistant coach on his gold-medal winning team in the Rio Olympics, has complete confidence in her ability to succeed in her new role. And unlike others, Auriemma said he was not surprised by Rizzottis decision to leave for George Washington.I think there has been opportunities for Jen to move in the past, but for whatever reasons, she didnt think that the time was right, said Auriemma, who added that he and Rizzotti had spoken briefly about the challenges that come with transitioning to another program. There was never a feeling of, I never want to move or Im afraid to move; the timing was never right.I knew that people werent going to stop pursuing Jen, so the fact that she left doesnt surprise me one bit.Rizzotti inherited a George Washington program that has impressed in recent years as it works toward regaining its once consistent NCAA tournament presence under former coach Joe McKeown. Between 1999-2008, George Washington made nine straight NCAA tournament appearances, including consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 in 2007-08. In the past two seasons, George Washington won back-to-back A-10 championships but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament both times.Rizzotti wont have to rebuild the program, but she will have to retool the roster now that Jonquel Jones, the face of the program the past two seasons, was selected No. 6 overall in the WNBA draft. Helped by Jones 14.6 rebounds per game in an abbreviated season due to injury, George Washington led the nation in rebounding (48.6 per game) in 2015-16. Point guard Lauren Chase, who ranked 15th in the country in assists last season, has also graduated.The Colonials were picked fourth in the A-10 preseason coaches poll. If you ask Rizzotti, however, thats exactly where she wants to be to start her first season in her new home.I kind of had a feeling that we wouldnt be a favorite to win the conference, but we certainly wouldnt be picked 14th, either, Rizzotti said. Thats a pretty good situation to be in your first year.Without Jones, Rizzotti will rely heavily on senior forward Caira Washington, an A-10 preseason first-team selection, in the frontcourt. Along with junior forward Kellie Prange as well as graduate transfer forward Lexi Martins, who led the nation in total rebounds a year ago while at Lehigh, Rizzotti believes the team can remain dominant on the boards.In addition to Washington, the team will also turn to junior guard Brianna Cummings for a breakout season on the wing. A former five-star recruit, the 5-foot-10 Cummings emerged last season as a formidable scorer for the Colonials, demonstrating an ability to both get to the rim and consistently connect from midrange.The big question for the Colonials is at the tip of the backcourt, where Rizzotti will juggle between two inexperienced point guards in sophomore Mei-Lyn Bautista and junior Camila Tapias to run the floor.George Washington is off to a 1-1 start, delivering the first win of the Rizzotti era on Sunday with a 56-45 victory over Princeton. Players like Washington are optimistic about the teams potential.Weve been lucky enough to have a great coaching staff that has come in and changed the program for the better, Washington said. Not every change is bad.Rizzotti admits that she has first-season nerves, a feeling she hasnt had to deal with in almost two decades. And more than anything, Rizzotti has no interest in a new coachs grace period.I want to make it a quick adjustment and a quick transition so what theyre used to -- which is winning -- doesnt go away, she said. I dont want to lose that sensation and that feeling. Yeah, I feel the pressure. Clinton Portis Youth Jersey . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. 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SAN DIEGO -- Bennie Boatwright hobbled out of Jenny Craig Pavilion on crutches and his sprained left knee in a brace, an injury that put a damper on Southern Californias 76-55 victory against San Diego and left the undefeated Trojans wondering how long theyll be without their second-leading scorer.The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward was hurt when he collided with USDs Juwan Gray while taking a shot just three minutes in. Boatwright stayed on the floor for a few minutes while being tended to and had to be helped to the bench. He also had to be helped into the locker room at halftime.Coach Andy Enfield said Boatwright will have an MRI exam on Thursday.Were hoping its just a sprain, Enfield said. Were hoping for the best. Hell certainly be out for a while. Were hoping its a few weeks vs. the season.Chimezie Metu had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Elijah Stewart scored 15 points for the Trojans (7-0), who led the whole way in beating the Toreros for the second straight season. DeAnthony Melton added 14.Boatwright, who missed the first two games with back spasms, was averaging 13.5 points.It has an effect because our rotation is not the same as it would be with him in there. Hes a unique player, with his size and his guard skills, Enfield added. We had to go small, and then we went big. Thank goodness Chimezie is skilled enough to play both front-line positions. ... Our players just have to step up.Metu agreed.Its one less scoring option on offense. At times when we didnt have him it was hard for us to score. Were just going to havee to work through it.dddddddddddd.Olin Carter III scored 21 for USD, while Brett Bailey had 17 and Tyler Williams 10.TALL TROJANUSC was too big and talented for the Toreros, particularly the 6-foot-11 Metu, who was 9 of 11 from the floor. He dominated on the boards and scored eight of the Trojans final 12 points of the first half en route to a 43-31 lead. He had a tip-in off a rebound, a turnaround jumper, a jump hook and a slam dunk off a rebound.The teams combined to miss 14 straight shots early in the second half, each going about six minutes without scoring.Metu broke the Trojans drought with a slam dunk on an alley-oop pass from Jordan McLaughlin.BIG PICTUREUSC: The Trojans are off to their best start since going 8-0 to open the 2000-01 season. They finished 24-10 after reaching the Elite Eight.USD: The Toreros dropped to 0-6 all-time against the Trojans. The Toreros opened last season at USC, losing 83-45.TOREROSWeve just got to continue to chop wood, San Diego coach Lamont Smith said. Weve got to have our freshmen grow up. Right now they havent played at a high enough clip, and with half our team being freshmen, theyve got to produce.UP NEXTUSC plays BYU in the Hoophall LA game at Staples Center on Saturday. The game is part of a doubleheader, with No. 8 Gonzaga and 16th-ranked Arizona playing the first game. USC is 6-3 all-time against BYU.USD travels to face Northern Arizona on Saturday. ' ' '