Jan. 21, 2004

George Mason (8-4, 3-2 CAA)
vs. Delaware (11-3, 3-2)
January 22, 2004; 7 p.m.
Patriot Center; Fairfax, VA

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Last Time on the Court George Mason dropped a 65-57 decision to UNC Wilmington at the Patriot Center in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up on Jan. 18.

Senior forward Vernessa Neamo 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. Senior guard Jen Derevjanik made nine of 10 free throws to collect 14 points and added five assists in 38 minutes of play for Mason.

The Patriots 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.

Against Delaware Mason is 8-4 all-time against the Blue Hens of Delaware, including a 4-2 mark at home. When facing off in Newark, the series is even at two and the Patriots hold a 2-0 advantage when playing on a neutral court. Last season, the two teams split the series as the Blue Hens won on their home turf on Jan. 19 by a score of 73-61 and Mason defeated Delaware 47-36 (Feb. 20) at the Patriot Center.

Scouting the Blue Hens Delaware has won two-straight games as the Blue Hens defeated Hofstra on Jan. 15 by a score of 78-47 and Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 18 (66-56), both of which were in Newark, DE. After winning eight consecutive non-conference games, Delaware opened up its CAA season with a win at UNCW (57-56). The Blue Hens then went on to drop the next two at William & Mary (65-56) and against Old Dominion (67-56) in Newark.

Tiara Malcom leads the Blue Hens with 11.6 points per game, while Tiffany Young is first among her teammates with an average of 7.7 rpg. Four athletes have started all 14 games for Delaware in Malcom, Julie Sailer, Hayes and Tracey Howell, while Young has played in every contest and has started 12.

Hediger's Place Junior Lauren Hediger is making her mark in the CAA as she is in the top-15 in two categories for the first time this season. Currently, Hediger is second in 3-pt. field goal percentage (.414) and is 10th in 3-pt. field goals made (1.33).

In the Classroom Out of the 15 athletes on George Mason's roster, nine registered over a 3.0 grade point average for the fall semester, which puts them on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll. Out of these nine, five players made the Dean's List in Derevjanik, senior Lesley Harvey, freshman Kristin Higy, Kooij and freshman Ashley York. In addition, Harvey and Higy received the Scholar Athlete Award. The team's average GPA for the 2002 fall semester was 3.03.

CAA in the RPI The CAA was ranked ninth once again out of the 31 Division I women's basketball conferences in the latest RPI report released by Collegiate Basketball News. Old Dominion is the highest ranked team at 24th, while Delaware (69) and George Mason (87) round out the two other schools in the conference in the top-100.

Sitting at the Top As a team, Mason is first among conference schools in three categories: 3-pt. FG pct. defense (.253), 3-pt. FG made (6.67) and turnover margin (+2.58). Individually, Jen Derevjanik sits first among CAA peers in assist/turnover ratio (2.21), while Laura Kooij is at the top in 3-pt. FG made (2.17).

30-Point Club Jen Derevjanik registered a new career-high of 33 points after shooting 11-of-18 from the field at Virginia Commonwealth on Jan. 11. This is the second time in Derevjanik's career that she has scored 30 or more points and it is the 38th time in Mason history a player has netted more than 30.

Higy's High Freshman Kristin Higy grabbed a career-high six rebounds, which was also a team-best, against UNC Wilmington on Jan. 18.

Totaling More The Patriots have totaled more points than their opponents in every half, and overtime, thus far this season. Mason has posted 376 points to its competition's 366 in the first half and the Patriots have netted 416 combined points in the second stanza, while their opponents have amassed 361. Mason has played one game in overtime and outscored St. Joseph's, 13-4, in the extra period.

Three's Company As far back as the records would take us (2000-01), no CAA member school has received player of the week honors three weeks in a row. Mason's Laura Kooij was named on Dec. 29, while Derevjanik received the honor on Jan. 5 and Jan. 12.

Under the 60-Point Mark The last time that George Mason held its opponent to under 60 points in four-straight games prior to this year was during the 2000-01 campaign. The Patriots winning streak went from Feb. 11 to Feb. 22, 2001 and they defeated UNCW (65-53), William & Mary (55-41), VCU (59-52), as well as JMU (68-51).

Home Cookin' Mason's women's basketball team started playing all of its home games at the Patriot Center during the 1994-95 season. Since this time, the Patriots have posted a regular season record of 74-45 (.622) when competing at the PC.

Mason Signs Five Head coach Debbie Taneyhill recently announced that five student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Patriots in the 2004-05 season. The signees include Casey Quigley (G, 5-10, Burke,VA/Lake Braddock), Keyhana Wakefield (5-8, G, Albany, NY/Colonie), Whitney Ward (G/F, 6-0, Columbia, MD/Long Reach), Jessica Smith (F, 6-1, Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth) and Erika Hussa (C, 6-3, Fairfax, VA/Robinson).