Feb. 17, 2005

Box Score

Fairfax, Va.--Four Patriots scored in double figures to help lead George Mason University's women's basketball team (10-13, 6-8 CAA) to a 68-45 victory over Towson University (13-12, 6-8) in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up Thursday evening at the Patriot Center.

Junior guard Jen Daniels (Brigantine, N.J.) tied Towson freshman guard Alis Freeman in points with 17 after shooting 5-8 from the field to lead all scorers. Freshman forward Moni Akintunde (Laurel, Md.) registered her second career double-double with a game second-best 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore Tracy Ann Holness (F; Brooklyn, N.Y.) came off the bench to add 11 for the Patriots. In addition, senior guard Lauren Hediger (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in 10 after shooting 43 percent from the field during 20 minutes of play. This marks the fifth time this season in which four Mason athletes have netted double digits in a single game.

The next highest scorer for the Tigers after Freeman (17) was senior forward Kelli Talbot who added seven. Junior forward Tierra Jackson, who leads Towson in points per game average with 13.6, was held to just five points on the evening. Jackson also added team-highs in both rebounds (8) and blocks (2).

Towson opened up the scoring in the game and continued on an 8-2 run after a made 3-pointer by Freeman at the 18:15 mark. Less than three minutes later, Mason tied the game at 11, but the Tigers responded with another 3-pointer to go ahead, 14-11. Mason took the lead with nine minutes remaining and had its largest lead of the first half of 13 at the 1:54 mark (32-19). With one lead change and the score tied three times, the Patriots went into the break with a 32-21 advantage.

Mason dominated in the second stanza as the Patriots shot 53 percent to the Tigers' 29 (8-28). Towson pulled within nine points at the 18:10 mark (35-26), but that's the closest the Tigers would get for the remainder of the game. Freshman guard Keyhana Wakefield (Albany, N.Y.) helped push Mason to its largest lead of 23 as she made two free throws in the final seconds of the contest.

Mason shot 52 percent from the field, 50 percent from 3-point range and was 12-19 (63 percent) from the charity stripe. Towson was held to a field goal shooting percentage of 30, was 3-17 (18 percent) in 3-pointers and shot 59 percent from the line. Mason dominated on the boards, 40-29, and also dished out more assists with 11 to the Tigers' seven.

The Patriots will return to action on Feb. 20 when they host UNC Wilmington at the Patriot Center at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet for Mason's lone regular season televised contest.