Jan. 7, 2004

FAIRFAX, VA--George Mason University's senior guard Jen Derevjanik (Staten Island, NY) can be found in the "Spotlight: A Player Worth Noting" section of the USA Today in the Jan. 7 issue on page 5C. This is a brand new section in the USA Today which will highlight an outstanding women's basketball player from a mid-major conference every week and Derevjanik is the first athlete to receive this honor.

"I am really pleased that we are getting some national recognition for a player of Jen Derevjanik's quality," said head coach Debbie Taneyhill. "I think Jen's contributions to George Mason for her career have been outstanding and she is on a great pace to continue this success this year."

Derevjanik currently averages a team-leading 19.5 points per game, which is second in the Colonial Athletic Association, and is also first among teammates in assists (35), steals (15) and blocks (5). The New York native earned Hawk Classic Tournament MVP honors after leading the Patriots to a 68-59 overtime victory against St. Joseph's (Dec. 29) in the title game with a game-high 26 points, including two clutch 3-pointers in the closing seconds of regulation. For her efforts against St. Joe's and Towson (Jan. 4), Derevjanik earned conference player of the week honors for the first time this season on Jan. 5.

George Mason will return to action on Friday, Jan. 9, when they face Drexel at the Patriot Center, with tip-off at 7 p.m.