Jan. 14, 2005

Box Score

Fairfax, Va.--Freshman guard Keyhana Wakefield (Albany, N.Y.) shot 3-6 from the free throw line in the last minute of overtime to help lead George Mason (6-7, 2-2 CAA) to a 50-48 win over James Madison (8-5, 1-3) in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up Friday evening at the Patriot Center.

Mason was down by four points with just over 20 seconds remaining in the second half after JMU's Lesley Dickinson made both of her free throw attempts to put the score at 44-40. Wakefield answered with a 2-pointer and the Dukes' Andrea Benvenuto was unable to convert on a one-and-one with 12 seconds left on the clock to cushion JMU's lead. Junior guard Jen Daniels (Brigantine, N.J.) pulled down one of her career-high 10 rebounds of the night after the missed free throw and drove to the basket, but missed a lay-up attempt.

Center Julie Flanders (Sr.; St. Thomas, V.I.) fought for the ball after Daniels' miss and grabbed a rebound, but missed a jumper. The ball went out of bounds and was last touched by JMU so head coach Debbie Taneyhill used her final timeout. With just over one second remaining in regulation, freshman forward Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.) in-bounded the ball to Flanders, who made a lay-up to knot the game at 44 to send the Patriots into their first overtime game of the season.

Sophomore forward Kristin Higy (Akron, Ohio) opened up the scoring in the extra session with a lay-up (4:42) and the Patriots only other points in overtime would be from the line. After a made free throw by Wakefield, JMU answered with a 3-pointer by Mary Beth Culbertson to shrink Mason's lead to just one point (49-48) with just under one minute on the clock. JMU's Krystal Brooks was fouled with 11 seconds left, but went 0-2 at the charity stripe and Wakefield was able to grab the rebound and was then fouled by Dickinson. Wakefield made her first and missed her second attempt, but a steal by Flanders as time expired helped seal the win for the Patriots.

Flanders collected her fourth career double-double as she led her teammates with 11 points and grabbed a game-high 12 boards. Higy shot 4-7 on the night to amass eight points, while Wakefield shot 60 percent from the line (6-10) and ended with eight points as well.

JMU's Meredith Alexis led all scorers with 15 points and also amassed a double-double as she pulled down a team-high 10 caroms. Culbertson came off the bench to net 11 points after shooting 4-8 from the field for the Dukes in 24 minutes of play.

For the second time this season, Mason attempted 30 or more free throws in a single game as the Patriots shot 17-32 from the line against the Dukes, while JMU was just 5-13 from the charity stripe. Mason shot 28 percent (16-58) on the night, while the Dukes were 19-63 from the field (30 percent). JMU had a slight advantage on the boards, 51-49, while Mason scored 26 points in the paint to the Dukes' 22. The lead changed five times and the score was tied six times in the 45 minutes of play.

The Patriots will return to action when they face Delaware on Jan. 16 in Newark, Del. with tip-off slated for 1 p.m.