Jan. 13, 2006

Box Score

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's women's basketball team came up short Friday evening as the Patriots fell to UNC Wilmington in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up by a score of 64-51 at the Patriot Center. With the loss Mason drops to 4-9 overall (0-4 CAA), while UNCW improves to 10-3 (4-0) on the year.

In the opening minutes of the game, Mason shot 5-of-6 from the line for its only points until sophomore guard Keyhana Wakefield (Albany, N.Y.) made a jumper at the 14:15 mark to pull the Patriots within three (10-7).

With the scoreboard reading 24-17 in favor of the Seahawks, UNCW went on a 10-2 run to push its lead to 15, but the run was halted by Mason freshman forward Colleen Shumaker (Haymarket, Va.) who made both of her free throw attempts with two minutes remaining in the half (34-21).

The Seahawks' junior forward Michaela Vezenkova gave UNCW its largest lead of the first 20 minutes as she made a fastbreak lay-up with 27 ticks on the clock (39-23). Sophomore forward Moni Akintunde (Laurel, Md.) completed Mason's scoring in the first half with a made basket in the closing seconds; the Patriots went into the break down by a score of 39-25.

Mason went on a 9-2 run in the opening minutes of the second stanza, which was capped off by a 3-pointer from freshman guard Scarlett Williams (Fairfax, Va.) at the 15:51 mark. The trey pulled Mason within seven points to the Seahawks (41-34), which is the closest the Patriots would get to UNCW for the remainder of the game.

Akintunde scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and sophomore guard Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.) matched her season-high as each added 10 points for the Patriots. Senior guard Jen Daniels (Brigantine, N.J.) tallied a game-best three steals and sophomore forward Jessica Smith (Dartmouth, Mass.) collected a career-high two blocks in the loss.

Three Seahawks scored in double digits as Vezenkova led the way with a career-high 16 points after shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Denise Lawrence made 50 percent of her attempts for 15 points, while Sahsha Taylor chipped in 12 for UNCW.

Mason shot just 32 percent on the night, while UNCW was 23-of-50 from the field (46 percent). The Patriots did collect more blocks, 5-1, and also tallied more steals with seven to the Seahawks' four.

The Patriots will return to action when they host William & Mary (6-7, 2-2) on Jan. 15 at 2 p.m.