Feb. 6, 2004

George Mason (11-6, 6-4 CAA) at
UNC Wilmington (11-8, 6-4)
Sun., Feb. 8, 2004; 2 p.m.
Trask Coliseum
Wilmington, NC

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Last Time on the Court Mason's women's basketball team fell to Drexel on Feb. 5 by a score of 80-74 at the Daskalakis Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Vernessa Neamo led the game with a career-high 28 points from a personal best 12 FGs and also added a team-high five assists in the loss. Jen Derevjanik was the other Patriot to score in double figures as she shot 7-of-13 from the field for 17 points and also dished out two assists for Mason.

Four Drexel players scored in double digits, including Jackie Falson who shot 6-of-8 from long range and closed the night with 23 points.

First Time Around The first time these two teams met this season, George Mason dropped a 65-57 decision to UNC Wilmington at the Patriot Center on Jan. 18.

Forward Vernessa Neamo poured in a team-high 17 points for the Patriots and matched her then season-high of four steals before fouling out with just under a minute remaining. Guard Jen Derevjanik 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.

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.

Series Record Mason holds a 31-13 advantage against UNC Wilmington, including a 15-6 record when playing in Fairfax and a 12-7 overall mark when plying on the Seahawks home turf. These two teams have met on neutral ground four times and the Patriots have won all of the contests.

Scouting the Seahawks UNC Wilmington has won six of its last seven games, including its most recent win at James Madison on Feb. 5 (58-54), which was the second time this season that the Seahawks defeated the Dukes.

Preseason All-CAA Player of the Year Cherie Lea, leads the Seahawks with 17.1 points per game, as well as 5.5 rebounds per contest. Lea has also dished out a team-high 57 assists and has amassed a team third-best 25 steals.

Two players have started every game for UNCW in Jennifer Kapper and Tracy Morgan, while Lea has seen action in every contest and has started 18.

UNCW is 5-2 when playing at the Trask Coliseum this season and have an identical conference record to the Patriots at 6-4.

Third Time's A Charm For the third-straight game, Lauren Hediger made 3-of-8 from beyond the arc on Thursday. Hediger started the trend on Jan. 29 at William & Mary and followed suit against Hofstra (Feb. 1), as well as at Drexel (Feb. 5).

Neamo's Best Senior forward Vernessa Neamo tallied a game-best 28 points at Drexel on Feb. 5, which is also a new career-high for the Maryland native. Neamo also made a personal best 12 FGs after shooting 12-of-18 on the night.

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.

Two In Common In CAA play, the Seahawks have lost to Delaware in Wilmington by a score of 57-56, and dropped the next two games: at Hofstra (79-68) and Drexel (75-58). The final conference loss for UNCW heading into today's match-up was at Old Dominion on Jan. 29 (67-55). The Patriots defeated both Delaware (71-64) and Hofstra (92-64) in Fairfax, but fell to Old Dominion (77-54) and Drexel (80-74) on the road.

Moving on Up Jen Derevjanik is three steals away from tying current assistant coach Marcell Harrison for fourth place in career assists. Currently, Derevjanik has 418 to her name, while Harrison ended her stint at Mason with 421.

Break Time Mason holds a 6-1 overall record when heading into intermission with the lead.

Helping Out All five of Mason's current starters have dished out double-digit assists thus far this season. Derevjanik leads the way with 69, while Neamo has 41, Kooij 29, Otim 25 and Higy has 14 to her name.

Mason's Better Half The Patriots have outscored their opponents, 620-547, in the second half of play thus far this season.

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.

From Long Distance The Patriots are second in CAA's record books with made 3-pointers in a single game with 15 against Hofstra (Feb. 1), but are first among current members. Richmond is at the top after draining 17 against American on Jan. 28, 2000.

Majority Rules George Mason has three athletes in the top-10 among conference peers in 3-point FG percentage, which is more representation than any other CAA school. Lauren Hediger is third (.379), Laura Kooij is fifth (.372) and Derevjanik is seventh (.365).

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).