Jan. 19, 2005

Series Record Mason holds a 31-14 advantage against UNC Wilmington, including a 15-6 record when playing in Fairfax and a 12-8 overall mark when plying on the Seahawks home court. These two teams have met on neutral ground four times and the Patriots have won all of the contests. Last season UNCW swept Mason as the Seahawks claimed a 65-57 win at the Patriot Center on Jan. 18 and then defeated the Patriots on Feb. 8 (63-54).

Last Time On the Court George Mason University's women's basketball team lost a 72-56 effort in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up against Delaware Sunday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.

George Mason, which had won two-straight conference games, trailed by just five points at the half but shot 34.5 percent from the field in the second half. George Mason guard Jen Daniels scored a career-high 26 points, pulled six rebounds, and registered four steals in the loss. Daniels converted 5 of 12 three-pointers as the Patriots hit nine treys in a BCC-record tying 27 attempts.

Sophomore guard Tyresa Smith finished with a team-high 19 points while also pulling seven rebounds while and senior forward Tiara Malcom recorded 17 points, five rebounds, three steals, and three assists and converted all 11 of her free throw attempts. Liz Hayes added nine points off the bench, including two three-pointers, while Amanda Blackstone pulled eight rebounds as the Hens held a commanding 38-28 advantage on the boards.

Delaware converted 23 of 28 free throws for the game (.821), including hitting 16 of 19 in the second half as the Blue Hens pulled away from a close game.

Mason led for the opening 10 minutes of the first half before the Hens tied the score at 13-13 with 9:25 left in the stanza. After two more ties and six lead changes, the Blue Hens took the lead for good on one free throw by Blackstone and two by Smith to go up 30-27 with 2:10 left in the stanza. Delaware guard Alena Koshansky converted a conventional three-point play with two seconds left to send the Hens up 36-31 at halftime.

The Blue Hens never trailed in the second half as Malcom scored 13 of her 17 points in the stanza. The Hens outscored the Patriots 17-8 over the first seven minutes of the half to take a 53-39 lead with 12:58 remaining and never looked back. Malcom scored seven points and Smith added four during the pivotal run. The Hens led by as much as 19 points at 60-41 with 9:02 left to play.

Setting New Standards Junior guard Jen Daniels set three new career-highs at Delaware in points (26), field goals (10) and 3-point field goals (5) on Jan. 16. Daniels' 26 points led all scorers against the Blue Hens and she also matched one of her teammates to lead the Patriots in rebounds with six.

UNC Wilmington's Numbers UNC Wilmington is currently on a four-game losing streak and hold an overall record of 4-10 (1-4 CAA). The Seahawks' last victory came in their conference opener on Jan. 2 as UNCW defeated Hofstra in Wilmington by a score of 67-57. The Seahawks are 4-2 thus far this season when playing at Trask Coliseum and have only played two CAA games at home and hold a 1-1 record in those contests. Freshman Meagan Samis leads UNCW in both points per game and rebounds per game with 16.1 and 7.7, respectively.

Quigley Helping Out Freshman forward Casey Quigley dished out a personal-best, as well as a game-high, four assists against Delaware on Jan. 16.

Hussa's Highs Freshman center Erika Hussa played a personal-best 17 minutes and also dished out a career-high two assists in Mason's 72-56 loss to Delaware.

Happy Birthday!! George Mason head coach Debbie Taneyhill will celebrate her 35th birthday on Jan. 20. Taneyhill is 1-2 overall on her birthday since becoming a head coach and 1-1 on the road. The last time Mason played on Jan. 20 was in 2002 and the Patriots fell to Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond by a score of 85-52. The lone win was when Taneyhill served as the interim head coach and the Patriots defeated Coppin State in Baltimore (56-49).

The Last Time February 11, 2001 marks the last time Mason won at the Trask Coliseum as the Patriots walked away with a 65-53 victory.

Extra Time After Mason's 50-48 overtime win against James Madison on Jan. 14, the Patriots are now 13-15 all-time in overtime games since competing at the Division I level (1982-83). While playing on their own court, the Patriots are 6-6 at home when the contest goes into extra minutes. In addition, head coach Debbie Taneyhill owns a 6-5 mark in overtime games while at the helm of the Patriot program.

Eighty or More Mason's 81 points on Jan. 9 against William & Mary marked the first time since Mar. 13, 2004 in which the Patriots scored 80 or more points. On that day, Mason fell to Old Dominion by a score of 85-81 in the CAA Championship game in Norfolk, Va.

Eight is Great! The Patriots held Miami to just eight points in the first half on Nov. 30, which is tied for second in the NCAA Division I record books for fewest points scored by one team in a single half. Florida State set the standard as the Seminoles led Savannah State by a score of 54-3 at the break on Nov. 23, 2003.

Playing Professionally Former Mason standout Jen Derevjanik became just the second Patriot to play in the WNBA as she was on the Connecticut Sun's roster for the 2004 season, which made it to the 2004 WNBA Finals. Another senior from last year's team also extended her playing career as Osato Edobor-Osula played with Germany this past summer.

Playing Host For the first time in school history, George Mason will host the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament which will be held from Mar. 9-12 at the Patriot Center. For the past five years, the tournament has been held in Norfolk, Va. and the closest it has been to Fairfax is when American hosted in 1987.