Jan. 26, 2005

George Mason (8-8, 4-3 CAA) vs. Old Dominion (9-6, 5-1)
January 27, 2005; 7 p.m.
Norfolk, Va. (Ted Constant Convocation Center)

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Series Record Mason and Old Dominion have squared-off 34 times and the Monarchs have won every contest. Thirteen of the Patriots losses have been in Fairfax, while 17 have been in Norfolk and the remaining four were played on neutral ground. Last year these two teams faced each other three times. During the regular season, the Monarchs claimed a 77-54 win in Norfolk (Jan. 25) and then went on to defeat the Patriots on Senior Day at the Patriot Center by a score of 81-64 (Feb. 29). The third meeting came in the 2004 CAA Championship game where ODU edged Mason, 85-81, on March 13 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Last Time On the Court Four Patriots scored in double figures to help lead George Mason University's women's basketball team to a 79-64 win in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up over Virginia Commonwealth Jan. 23 at the Patriot Center.

Freshman forward Casey Quigley netted a career-high 18 points after shooting 7-9 from the field and 4-6 from 3-point range in 29 minutes of play. Senior guard Lauren Hediger helped with Mason's 3-point total of 11 as she made only treys on the afternoon (5-8) for 18 points. Junior guard Jen Daniels amassed 17 points and dished out a game-high eight assists, while freshman guard Keyhana Wakefield was nearly perfect from the free throw line (6-8) as she came off the bench to net 10 points for the Patriots.

Senior center Julie Flanders opened up the scoring for the Patriots with a lay-up and Hediger tied the game at five three minutes into the game with one of her five treys on the afternoon. Mason then went on a 21-2 scoring run and allowed VCU to score only two field goals in 11 and a half minutes which put the score at 33-13 with just under four minutes remaining in the half. Freshman forward Moni Akintunde was the last to score in the first stanza as she made a fastbreak lay-up off of a pass from Daniels at the 47 second mark and the Patriots went into the break with a 39-19 lead.

Mason had its largest lead of the game of 24 after a Wakefield made jumper at the 11:56 mark to put the score at 57-33. VCU responded with a 5-0 scoring run, which was halted by a made free throw from Hediger as she was sent to the line after the Rams' head coach Beth Cunningham was charged with a technical foul. In the last four minutes of the game, there were 13 total free throw attempts for both teams as Mason shot 7-8 and the Rams were 4-5 from the charity stripe.

The Patriots shot their best field goal percentage of the season at 50 percent (25-50), while the Rams went 22-66 from the field (33 percent). Mason shot 55 percent from beyond the arc (11-20), while VCU shot 4-10 (29 percent) from long range.

Fielding a New High The Patriots broke their season-high of field goal percentage on Sunday, which surpassed the previous high that was set against UNCW on Jan. 20. Mason shot 25-50 (.500) in its 79-64 win over VCU on Jan. 23.

Nothing But Treys Senior guard Lauren Hediger attempted only 3-pointers against VCU and went on to set a new personal standard in made treys in a single game. Hediger shot 5-8 from long range in the Patriots win on Jan. 23, which was two shy of tying the school record.

ODU's Numbers Old Dominion (9-6, 5-1 CAA) heads into Thursday's game on a four-game winning streak as the Monarchs have not lost since Jan. 9. ODU fell to Delaware on that date by a score of 73-70 in Norfolk which brought the Monarchs CAA home win streak of 122 to an end. ODU owns a 7-2 mark when playing on its home court thus far this season. Shareese Grant leads ODU and is fifth in the league with 15.4 points per game, while Tiffany Green is first among her teammates in rebounds per game with 8.3.

It's Raining Threes! Mason is ranked 49th nationally, out of 324 Division I schools, in 3-point field goals per game (6.1) and is 72nd in 3-point field goal percentage (33.9).

Quigley's Highs Freshman forward Casey Quigley had a strong showing against VCU as she set four new career-highs against the Rams. Quigley amassed personal-bests in points (18), field goals (7), 3-point FGs (4) and blocks (1) on Jan. 23.

Top Echelon Hediger is ranked 46th in the nation in 3-point FGs per game with an average of 2.3.

50 percent or More In Mason's win over VCU on Jan. 23, the Patriots averaged 50 percent or better in the three main categories: field goal percentage (50%), 3-point field goals (55%) and free throws (67%).

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 is playing with Germany. In addition, Vernessa Neamo (2000-04) plays for the NWBL's Birmingham Power.

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.