Dec. 5, 2005

George Mason (3-3) vs. Penn State (3-3)
December 6, 2005; 7 p.m.
Patriot Center (Fairfax, Va.)

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Series Record George Mason and Penn State have only met once before and the Nittany Lions claimed a 76-48 victory in State College, Pa. on Dec. 2, 2004.

About Penn State Penn State started off the 2005-06 season with two-straight losses at home as the Nittany Lions were defeated by Duke (93-67) and Villanova (62-59). PSU's first win came at Duquesne on Nov. 22 (81-62) and is currently on a two-game winning streak. The Nittany Lions last victory was over #24 Texas Tech as PSU defeated the Red Raiders in double overtime by a score of 78-72 in State College on Dec. 4. Sophomore guard Kamel Gissendanner has started all six games and currently leads PSU with an average of 16.5 points per game. Gissendanner was a crucial part of the Nittany Lions win on Dec. 4 as she tallied 14 points in the two overtime periods and ended the contest with a total of 34.

Is the third time a charm? Tuesday's meeting with Penn State marks the first time in school history that Mason will host a Big Ten school. Outside of last year's meeting with Penn State, the last time the Patriots faced a Big Ten School was on Dec. 2, 1995 when Mason dropped a 75-68 decision to Michigan State at the Duke Classic in Durham, N.C. Mason's overall record against Big Ten schools stands at 0-2.

Last Time On the Court

In its first Colonial Athletic Association game of the 2005-06 campaign, George Mason's women's basketball team dropped a 74-63 decision to the University of Delaware on Dec. 4 at the Patriot Center.

The first half opened up with four ties and after the Patriots were down by one point (11-10) they went on an 11-3 run, which was capped off by a jumper from junior Nikkia Slade to push Mason's lead to 21-14 with about nine minutes remaining. Delaware countered with an 13-2 run, which gave them a 28-23 advantage after Delaware junior guard Alena Koshansky netted a 3-pointer (4:07). Mason regained the lead after sophomore guard Casey Quigley made a trey at 2:05 (31-28), but the Blue Hens would go into the break with a 33-31 lead over the Patriots.

In the second stanza, Mason pulled within five at the 15:20 mark after senior guard Jen Daniels poured one in from beyond the arc off of an assist from sophomore guard Keyhana Wakefield to put the score at 43-38. That was the closest the Patriots would get to the Blue Hens for the remainder of the game. UD had its largest lead of the contest, 60-45, after a made free throw by junior guard Tyresa Smith at the 7:17 mark.

Mason shot 45 percent (25-56) on the afternoon, while Delaware was 24-of-45 from the field (53 percent). Mason had a slight advantage on the boards, 31-28, and assists were fairly even as Mason dished out 17 and UD tallied 18. The Patriots' first 14 helpers came from the first 14 field goals of the contest.

Setting Highs Sophomore guard Casey Quigley netted a season-high 10 points against Delaware as she shot 4-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Sixth Woman Junior forward Nikkia Slade came off the bench to score a team-best 18 points versus the Blue Hens after shooting 50 percent from the field and her six rebounds matched a game-high.

Same Opponent Penn State faced off against CAA member school Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. and lost by a score of 93-61 on Nov. 29.

For Help, Call... Sophomore guard Keyhana Wakefield dished out a career-high seven assists on Dec. 4.

"Welcome to Miami" For the second-straight year, Mason defeated ACC member school Miami. The Patriots claimed a 68-61 victory in Coral Gables, Fla. on Nov. 30.

Starting A Trend Sophomore forward Moni Akintunde scored in double figures for the fourth time this season against UD (11) and also collected a personal-best three blocks.

Moving on Up Senior guard Jen Daniels netted a trey on Dec. 4 to push her career total to 85 and is now tied with Jill Bartley (1996-2000) for ninth place in Mason's record books. Daniels is 20 3-pointers away from tying Tracy Kirk, who sank 105 of her tries from beyond the arc in her four years donning a Mason uniform (1993-97).

Familiar Faces Mason has started the same five athletes for its first six games in Tracy Ann Holness, Moni Akintunde, Jessica Smith, Jen Daniels and Keyhana Wakefield.

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.