Dec. 20, 2003

Box Score

FAIRFAX, VA--George Mason University women's basketball team (3-1) continued its winning streak with a 78-63 defeat of Monmouth (4-4) at the Patriot Center Saturday afternoon.

Senior forward Vernessa Neamo (Forestville, MD) poured in a game-high 23 points, which included a historic 3-pointer at the 5:03 mark in the first half, as Neamo became the 13th player in Mason's women's basketball history to amass 1,000 career points. Guard Jen Derevjanik (Sr.; Staten Island, NY) netted a team second-best 18 points for the Patriots, including a 75 percent showing at the charity stripe, and she also added game-highs in both assists (seven) and steals (four) in 27 minutes of play. Junior guard Julie Flanders (Virgin Islands) posted a career-high eight boards and also collected career-bests in points with five and blocks with two, while junior forward Laura Kooij (Den Helder, Holland) scored 12 points for Mason in 26 minutes of play.

Jewonda Bright led Monmouth with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Niamh Dwyer scored a team second-best 18 points. Courtney Lumpkin shot 50 percent on the night for 10 points and also added three assists, while Charisse Johnson came off the bench to score seven points for the Hawks.

Derevjanik opened up the scoring for the game as she made a 2-pointer at the 18:37 mark. After the score was tied at four, the Patriots went on a 13-0 scoring run, with the last Mason basket by Derevjanik (11:28) for two points. The largest lead of the half for the Patriots was 24 after sophomore guard Jen Daniels (Brigantine, NJ) made a layup at 2:05 after a Monmouth turnover. Mason held the Hawks to just 33 percent shooting in the opening stanza, while the Patriots shot 49 percent. Mason headed into the break with a 41-19 advantage on the scoreboard.

Flanders scored the first points of the second half as she made a 2-point basket in the paint just about 30 seconds into the second stanza. The Patriots maintained their lead throughout the remainder of the game and were ahead by as much as 29 points after a fastbreak layup by Susan Otim (Sr.; Fairfax, VA) at 5:24. Monmouth closed out the game on an 8-0 scoring run with its last point by Dwyer as she made a free throw with three seconds remaining in the contest.

The Patriots shot 45 percent on the night (31-of-69), while Monmouth netted 20-of-48 (42 percent). Rebounds were fairly even as the Hawks grabbed 37 to the Patriots' 36, but Monmouth created 25 turnovers to Mason's 16. The Patriots had 22 fast break points, while Monmouth only had four and Mason had 10 second-chance points to the Hawks eight.

The Patriots will return to action on Dec. 22 when they travel to Bronx, NY, to face-off against Fordham at 5 p.m.