Nov. 28, 2005

George Mason (2-2) at Miami (3-0)
November 30, 2005; 7 p.m.
The Convocation Center (Coral Gables, Fla.)

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Series Record George Mason and Miami have met once in school history where the Patriots claimed a 60-35 victory over the Hurricanes on Nov. 30, 2004 in Fairfax.

Stopped at Eight The Patriots held Miami to just eight points in the first half on Nov. 30, 2004 which was tied for second in the NCAA Division I record books at the time 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. At the time, the last known team to score only eight points in the first 20 minutes was Liberty against Radford on Jan. 27, 2001 as the Highlanders were ahead 14-8 at the break.

About Miami Miami heads into this match-up with an overall record of 3-0, all of which were played on the Hurricanes home court. UM opened up the season with a 72-51 win over Samford on Nov. 18 and then won its own Thanksgiving Tournament by defeating both Bradley (73-61) and Oakland (78-68). Tamara James leads the Hurricanes in both points (21.3) and rebounds (10.0) after starting each contest. Melissa Knight and Renee Taylor also average double-digit points with 14.7 and 14.3, respectively.

Last Time on the Court

George Mason fell to Arkansas State in the Duke Classic consolation game by a score of 74-66 on Nov. 27 in Durham, N.C.

Arkansas State's Adrianne Davie led with a game and career-high 29 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to pull the Lady Indians to victory.

A nine-point lead four minutes in, however, was the highest advantage the Lady Indians would gain on their opponent.

Mason picked up its offense and pulled within one point on a 3-pointer by senior guard Jen Daniels before gaining its first lead at 11:10 with another trey by junior forward Tracy Ann Holness. From there, the two teams would trade leads 11 more times with 10 tied scores.

ASU led 41-39 at halftime, and Davie put up an immediate jump shot off an assist from Rudy Sims to open the second period. The Patriots and Lady Indians traded baskets for several minutes before Mason knotted the score at 48 with 14:40 left.

Holness gave the Patriots their first lead of the second half with a layup at 13:17, but Davie quickly responded on her end of the court, to match George Mason's 50 points. After three more ties, Holness again put the Patriots ahead by two with eight minutes to go with a pair of free throws, and a Casey Quigley basket a minute later would match Mason's widest lead of the game at 62-58.

Another pair of free throws from Davie lifted the Lady Indians by two with less than five minutes to go. George Mason's Jen Daniels tied the score for the last time at 3:59, but two more free throws from Davie just over a minute later would give ASU a permanent advantage. The Lady Indians topped George Mason, 8-2, in the final 2:38 to come away with the 74-66 win.

Career Showing Junior forward Tracy Ann Holness netted double figures in two-straight games, including a 21 point career-setting night versus Arkansas State on Nov. 27.

November Closer Since 1978-79, Mason holds an overall mark of 10-15 in the last game played in November, which includes a 5-8 record when those contests have been decided on the road, excluding neutral ground.

Double Digits Anyone? Freshman forward Colleen Shumaker came off the bench and shot 5-of-6 from the field against the Lady Indians on Nov. 27 to pour in a team third-best 10 points.

Helping Out Sophomore guard Keyhana Wakefield dished out a team-high five helpers after playing a career-high 32 minutes in the Patriots' loss to Arkansas State in Durham, N.C.

CAA vs. ACC Thus far this non-conference season, the Colonial Athletic Association holds an 0-4 overall record against teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Block Party As a team, George Mason currently sits in third among CAA schools in blocked shots per game with 4.25.

Top-20 Through four games, Tracy Ann Holness sits 16th among conference peers with an average of 12.8 points per game, while teammate Jen Daniels is next with 12.5 ppg.

Fountain of Youth Mason is one of the youngest Division I women's basketball teams this season as the Patriots sit tied for third with a total of 11 underclassmen on its roster (five freshman, six sophomores). Air Force has the most underclassmen with seven freshman and six sophomores, for a combined 13.

Mason's Newcomers The Patriots welcome nine new faces to this year's squad in Lateisha Wade, Scarlett Williams, Tammy Meyers, Chynelle Rogers, Colleen Shumaker, Tiffany Burroughs, Nikkia Slade, C'Vette Henson and Becky Rautzhan.

50 or Less Mason held Howard to under 50 points on Nov. 21. The last time the Patriots kept an opponent to under 50 total points was on March 4, 2005 when Mason defeated Drexel by a score of 46-44 in Fairfax.

Where's Mason? With the return of only two starters and five letterwinners, Mason was predicted to finish the 2005-06 season seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association, which was voted on by members of the media and the league's sports information directors.

Two in a Row The last time Mason scored 70 or more points in two-straight games (Nov. 19 & 21, 2005) in which the Patriots have won was last season when the Patriots defeated Georgetown 70-62 in Washington, D.C. (Dec. 8) and at Mount St. Mary's (71-52) on Dec. 11.

Playing Host For the second-straight year, George Mason will host the Colonial Athletic Association Championship which will be held from Mar. 8-11 at the Patriot Center.

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 both the 2004 & 2005 seasons. Both years the Sun made it to the WNBA Finals.