Jan. 18, 2004

Box Score

Fairfax, VA--UNC Wilmington (7-7, 2-3 CAA) had three players score in double-figures to top George Mason University (8-4, 3-2) by a score of 65-57 at the Patriot Center in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up Sunday afternoon.

Senior forward Vernessa Neamo (Forestville, MD) poured in a team-high 17 points for the Patriots and matched her season-high of four steals before fouling out with just under a minute remaining. Guard Jen Derevjanik (Sr.; Staten Island, NY) made nine of 10 free throws to collect 14 points and added five assists in 38 minutes of play for Mason.

Cherie Lea led the way for the Seahawks as she collected a game-high 22 points and grabbed a team second-best eight rebounds, while Tracy Morgan was one rebound shy of a double-double as she amassed nine boards and tallied 11 points. Jennifer Kapper shot 50 percent from the field for UNCW (5-of-10) for 14 points and also added three assists and two steals.

Derevjanik started the scoring for the Patriots in the first half with a 3-pointer at 19:25, but the Seahawks would answer with a 6-0 run to put the score at 10-3 (17:36). UNCW went on an identical scoring run to post its largest lead of the first half of nine (16-7) at 14:15, but it was halted after a made trey by senior forward Susan Otim (Fairfax, VA). Mason would pull within one at the 1:18 mark (23-22) after a made free throw by Derevjanik, but the Patriots went into the break down by a score of 27-22.

Wilmington's Tracy Morgan made the first field goal of the second stanza at 18:58 (29-22) and the Seahawks then went on a 5-0 scoring run to put the score at 34-24 with just over 15 minutes left in the game. UNCW's largest lead of the second half was 13 with the last one occurring at 5:51 (56-43) and the Patriots answered with an 11-0 run. Neamo opened up the scoring with a made jumper, which was followed by a made lay-up from Otim. After two made free throws by Derevjanik and a 3-pointer by junior guard Lauren Hediger (Pittsburgh, PA), Derevjanik pulled the Patriots within one after netting one from long range. That was the closest Mason would get as the Seahawks made five key free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory.

Mason shot 30 percent (18-of-60) on the night, while UNCW went 24-of-45 from the field for 53 percent. The Seahawks won the battle of the boards as they grabbed 37 to the Patriots 30 and Mason scored 18 points off turnovers to UNCW's six. The Patriots scored 10 fast break points to the Seahawks two, while UNCW dominated in the paint as they poured in 38 points and held Mason to 20.

The Patriots will return to action on Jan. 22 when they host Delaware at the Patriot Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.