Feb. 18, 2005

George Mason (10-13, 6-8 CAA) vs. UNCW (6-17, 3-11)
February 20, 2005; 3 p.m.
Televised on Comcast SportsNet
Patriot Center (Fairfax, Va.)

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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.

Series Record Mason holds a 32-14 advantage against UNC Wilmington, including a 15-6 record when playing in Fairfax and a 13-8 overall mark when playing 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).

First Time Around Senior guard Lauren Hediger scored 15 points and George Mason overcame a four-point halftime deficit as the Patriots defeated UNC Wilmington, 59-53, in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball action on Jan. 20 at Trask Coliseum.

Joining Hediger in double figures was junior guard Jen Daniels with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line. Senior center Julie Flanders and freshman forward Keyhana Wakefield added nine points apiece. Flanders added four steals as the Patriots totaled 10 swipes on the evening.

UNCW freshman forward Meagan Samis held game-high honors with 18 points, while sophomore guard Denise Lawrence posted a career-high with six assists. Freshman guard Meg Withrow chipped in 14 points, while senior center Tanika Harrison added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Seahawks.

Trailing 29-20 with 1:56 left in the first half, the Patriots scored seven of the last nine points to close out the half and narrow their deficit to 31-27. Daniels' 3-pointer highlighted the outburst and Wakefield capped it off with a pair of baskets in the closing minutes.

Mason opened the second half with another 7-2 blitz to take a 34-33 lead on Flanders' second basket of the spurt as she fueled the run with six points. Samis answered with a layup at 16:45 to restore UNCW's lead, but another short jumper by Flanders ignited a 9-0 Mason run for the Patriots to take a 43-35 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.

The Patriots turned up the defensive pressure in the second half limiting the Seahawks to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and forcing 10 turnovers that led to 11 points.

UNCW rallied late with a 9-0 run of its own to move to within two, 53-51, with 34 seconds remaining. Hediger and Wakefield combined to knock down all six free throw attempts in the final 20 seconds to secure the win for Mason.

UNC Wilmington's Numbers UNCW heads into today's contest with an overall record of 6-17 and a league mark of 3-11. The Seahawks own a 1-11 road record with their only victory away from Wilmington at Hofstra on Feb. 13 where UNCW won in overtime by a score of 78-76. The Seahawks are 2-3 in their last five games, including an overtime win against William & Mary on Feb. 3 (70-67). Megan Samis leads UNCW in both scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg).

Last Time On the Court

Four Patriots scored in double figures to help lead George Mason University's women's basketball team to a 68-45 victory over Towson University in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up on Feb. 17 at the Patriot Center.

Junior guard Jen Daniels 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 registered her third career double-double with a game second-best 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while sophomore Tracy Ann Holness came off the bench to add 11 for the Patriots. In addition, senior guard Lauren Hediger chipped in 10 after shooting 43 percent from the field during 20 minutes of play.

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).

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.

Five Alive For the fifth time this season, four Patriots scored in double digits in a single game against Towson on Feb. 17. The other contests in which this happened are: Georgetown (Dec. 8), Longwood (Dec. 21), William & Mary (Jan. 9) and VCU (Jan. 23).

Doublin' Up Junior guard Jen Daniels chipped in double figure points for the 15th time this season in Mason's 22-point win over Towson on Thursday. Daniels poured in a team-high 17 points after shooting 5-8 from the field, including 2-3 from long range.

Three's Company Three student-athletes have started all 23 games thus far this season for the Patriots in senior guard Lauren Hediger, senior center Julie Flanders and junior guard Jen Daniels.

Double Trouble Freshman guard Moni Akintunde registered her third career double-double against the Tigers as she scored a team second-best 12 points and pulled down a game-high 10 boards.

50 Percent or Better For just the second time this season, Mason averaged 50 percent or better on Feb. 17 in field goals (52%), 3-point field goals (50%) and free throws (63%). The first time this happened during the 2004-05 campaign was against VCU on Jan. 23.

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 and was selected to participate in the 2005 NWBL All-Star Game.

Mason Adds Four Head coach Debbie Taneyhill recently announced that three student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Patriots in the 2005-06 season. The signees include Tammy Myers (G/F, 5-9, Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro), Becky Rautzhan (6-3, C, Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) and Colleen Shumaker (F, 6-1, Haymarket, Va./Home School). Leteisha Wade (G, 5-8, Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro/Marshall) has joined the team this semester after transferring from Marshall University and, due to NCAA transfer rules, will sit out through the fall semester and has three years of eligibility remaining.

Home Cookin' Mason's women's hoops team started playing all of its home games at the Patriot Center since the 1994-95 season. Since then, the Patriots have posted a regular season record of 84-51 (.622) when competing at the PC.