Feb. 3, 2004

George Mason (11-5, 6-3 CAA) at
Drexel (7-11, 4-5)
Thursday, Feb. 5, 2004; 7 p.m.
Daskalakis Athletic Center
Philadelphia, PA

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Last Time on the Court Mason's women's basketball team lit the 3-point line on fire as the Patriots drained a new school record of 15 made treys in a single game en route to a 92-64 victory over Hofstra on Feb. 1 at the Patriot Center.

Mason shot 29-of-64 from the field (45 percent) and garnered 91 percent shooting from the charity stripe (19-of-21), along with 15-of-33 from long range. Hofstra shot 42 percent on the night and went 10-of-18 from the free throw line and registered 44 percent shooting from beyond the arc (8-of-18). The Pride won the battle of the boards, 37-34, but Mason had only 14 turnovers to Hofstra's 26 and the Patriots amassed 18 steals to the Pride's six.

First Time Around George Mason defeated Drexel at the Patriot Center earlier this season by a score of 68-54 on Jan. 9. Five players scored in double figures for the Patriots with senior Vernessa Neamo leading the way with 15 points and a game-best 12 boards. Freshman Kristin Higy came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points after shooting 6-of-8 from the field, while both Susan Otim and Laura Kooij chipped in 13 points each for Mason. Derevjanik netted 11 points and dished out five assists in the win. Katrina Martin scored a game-high 20 points for Drexel and pulled down a team-best nine boards, while Catherine Scanlon poured in 13 points and added three assists on the night.

Series Record The Patriots are 4-1 all-time against Drexel since the Dragons entered the CAA (2001-02). Mason holds a 3-0 advantage when playing at the Patriot Center and the series is tied at one a piece when facing-off in Philadelphia.

Scouting the Dragons Drexel has lost three-straight, with the last two on the road. The last game the Dragons played in Philadelphia was against Delaware where the Blue Hens clinched a 58-57 overtime win on Jan. 25. Drexel closed out the first round of CAA play with a 70-57 loss at Hofstra on Jan. 29 and an 81-51 loss to Old Dominion in Norfolk (Feb. 1).

Catherine Scanlon leads the Dragons in scoring with 12.4 ppg, which is 13th in the CAA. Scanlon is also first among teammates with 7.7 rebounds per game, which is fifth in the conference.

One player has started all 18 games for Drexel in Katrina Martin, who is averaging a team second-best 12.1 ppg, while Scanlon has seen action in every contest and has started 17.

Top-5 in the Nation The 15 made treys by the Patriots against Hofstra on Feb. 1 is not only a new Mason record, it also is tied for fourth in the nation in single game totals for this season. Idaho State set the standard this year with 17 made threes against Lewis & Clark on Nov. 22, 2003.

Seven-Up Junior Laura Kooij made a career-high seven 3-pointers against Hofstra (Feb. 1), which matches Mason's single-game record set by Keri Chaconas on both Feb. 17, 1995 and Dec. 31, 1995. The seven treys also ties fourth-best in Colonial Athletic Association history.

Super 'Patriot' Sunday Mason's 28-point win over Hofstra on Feb. 1 marks the Patriots largest margin of victory thus far this season. The last time Mason defeated a conference opponent by 28 or more points was against Drexel on Jan. 16, 2003 where the Patriots walked away with a 74-42 victory at the PC.

From Long Distance The Patriots are second in CAA's record books with made 3-pointers in a single game with 15, but are first among current members. Richmond is at the top after draining 17 against American on Jan. 28, 2000.

Top in the Nation Jen Derevjanik is 44th in the nation in scoring with an average of 18.5 points per game. Only one other CAA player is ahead of Derevjanik in VCU's Cyndy Wilks who is 11th with 21.4 ppg.

90 or More The 92 points Mason scored against Hofstra marked just the fourth time in head coach Debbie Taneyhill's career that the Patriots have scored 90 or more points and the second against a conference opponent. The last time this happened was on Nov. 24, 2001 where Mason defeated Tennessee-Chattanooga, 91-84, in Fairfax. In this game, Kooij hit 11-of-18 FGs (four threes) to net a career-high 41 points.

Where's Mason? As of Feb. 2, the Patriots are 65th in the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), according to the Collegiate Basketball News. Three other CAA schools are in the top-100 with Old Dominion leading the way at 20th, Delaware at 89th and Hofstra at 96th.

Higy's Highs Kristin Higy grabbed a game-best and a career-high seven rebounds against Hofstra on Feb. 1. Higy also set a new personal best in made free throws with five versus the Pride.

That's My Ball! Vernessa Neamo matched her career-high of seven steals against Hofstra, which led to a season-best single game steals total for the Patriots with 18.

Five Alive For the first time this season, all five of Mason's starters scored in double figures on Feb. 1. Kooij paved the way with 29 against Hofstra, while Neamo had 16, Derevjanik added 13, Otim 12 and Higy netted 11. The same five scored in double digits earlier in the season against Drexel, but Higy was not in the starting line-up.

Majority Rules George Mason has three athletes in the top-six among conference peers in 3-point FG percentage, which is more representation than any other CAA school. Laura Kooij is fourth (.381), Lauren Hediger is fifth (.380) and Derevjanik is sixth (.367).

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 3.07.

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 that time, the Patriots have posted a regular season record of 76-45 (.628) 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).