March 2, 2005

George Mason (11-15, 7-10 CAA) vs. Drexel (17-8, 11-5)
March 3, 2005; 7 p.m.
Patriot Center (Fairfax, Va.)

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 The Patriots are 4-3 all-time against Drexel since the Dragons entered the CAA (2001-02). Mason holds a 3-0 advantage when playing at the Patriot Center and Drexel leads with a 3-1 record when facing-off in Philadelphia. Last year the Patriots claimed a 68-54 victory in Fairfax (Jan. 9), while the Dragons won by a score of 67-58 at the Daskalakis Center on Feb. 5.

First Time Around George Mason University's women's basketball team was edged by Drexel, 59-55, in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up on Jan. 30 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Mason jumped out to a six-point lead in the first half, fueled by the lane driving of Moni Akintunde who scored five of her six points in the opening minutes of the contest. Candice Williams blocked a shot on the next possession which set up a three-pointer by Suber on Drexel's end to give the Dragons the lead at 19-18 at the 6:23 mark. Drexel went into halftime with a slight advantage over the Patriots, 28-27.

The Dragons maintained a lead for most of the second half, but Mason took it briefly with four minutes remaining on a Jen Daniels three-pointer that made the score 46-45. But on Drexel's next time down the court Narissa Suber knocked down a trey to put the Dragons back in the lead. Suber finished 4-of-8 from three-point land and tied Catherine Scanlon for the team lead with 16 points. Martin, who had been having a relatively quiet game through the first 38 minutes, steadied the Dragons after Suber's three. The senior made a lay-up and went on to make a 3-pointer to give Drexel a 53-46 lead with 1:11 left.

The Dragons led by as many as nine points in the second half, but Mason made a charge with 38 seconds remaining to make it a two-point game with four ticks left on the clock. Daniels, who led the Patriots with 14 points, hit a long three-pointer to put her team in striking distance at 57-55. But Katrina Martin broke free on the ensuing in-bound play and drew a foul. The Dragons' leading scorer drained both free throws to save the 59-55 nail-biter for Drexel.

Last Time On the Court

George Mason University's women's basketball team dropped a 62-56 decision to Virginia Commonwealth in a Colonial Athletic Association conteston Feb. 27 at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

After a game-opening three-pointer by Mason, VCU used a 12-5 run to maintain an early lead until the 12:16 mark, where the Patriots tied the contest for the second of four times in the half. The two teams would trade baskets for the remainder of the session, while exchanging the advantage five times before Evans hit a field goal with 4:43 left (26-24), before the break to help the Rams enter the intermission with a six-point cushion (33-27).

The second half was reminiscent of the first, as the score was even six times and the advantage was exchanged on four occasions. The session's sixth tie came with 2:57 remaining in the outing, as Meagan Evans provided the Rams with a much-needed three-pointer, knotting the score at 56-56. Maria Giovannetti then made good on the front end of a pair of free throws to give VCU a one-point advantage and the lead for good. The host school would hold on down the stretch courtesy of clutch free throw shooting from Lauren Hogan, freshman LaKea Jones, and Giovannetti. The trio combined for 5-of-8 free throws over the contest's final 1:12 to give the Rams their second-straight victory.

Evans finished the game shooting nearly 60 percent from the field (7-12), while Giovannetti matched her career-high of five assists and pulled down eight rebounds against the Patriots. Hogan, who grabbed 13 of her game-high 14 rebounds on the defensive end, also had three assists. VCU, which out-rebounded Mason 44-36, shot 36.9 percent (21-57) from the field and 75.0 percent (18-24) at the charity stripe.

Mason's Tracy Ann Holness paced the visiting school with a game-high 17 points, while guard Jen Daniels also finished with double-figures, putting up 14 points. Center Julie Flanders had 10 rebounds for the Patriots.

Drexel's Numbers The Dragons head into tonight's match-up winning three of their last five games, including a 56-45 win against William & Mary on Feb. 27. Drexel currently sits in third place in the CAA with an overall record of 17-8 and a league mark of 11-5. The Dragons are 7-6 overall on the road this season and hold a 4-4 mark in conference games away from their home court. Katrina Martin leads the Dragons with an average of 16.2 points per game, while Catherine Scanlon averages a team-best 8.0 caroms per game.

Where Mason Stands George Mason is currently tied for sixth place with Hofstra and is one game ahead of Virginia Commonwealth in the league standings. The Patriots need a win tonight to have a chance to be the No. 6 seed in the tournament and also need both VCU and Hofstra to lose.

That's A Wrap Since becoming a member of the CAA (1985-86), Mason is 10-9 overall in final regular season games and the Patriots hold an 8-4 mark when playing the last game of the regular season in Fairfax.

On this Day... Since the start of George Mason women's basketball (1973-74), the Patriots have played seven games on March 3. Mason is 5-2 overall on this day and own a 3-0 mark when competing at home.

Career Move Through 79 games in a Mason uniform, Daniels has netted 73 treys and now sits 10th in the Patriots' career record books. Toni Battle (1987-91) was previously in the 10th spot, as she finished with 70 career baskets from long range.

Three's Company Three student-athletes have started all 26 games thus far this season for the Patriots in senior guard Lauren Hediger, senior center Julie Flanders and junior guard Jen Daniels.

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.