Nov. 13, 2006

Game #2
George Mason (0-1) vs. Liberty (1-0)
November 14, 2006; 7 p.m.
Patriot Center (10,000)
Fairfax, Va.

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Series Record George Mason has never lost to Liberty as the Patriots are 11-0 all-time against the Flames, including a 6-0 mark in Fairfax. The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 18, 1991 and Mason won by a score of 55-47 in Lynchburg, Va. Current Mason head coach Debbie Taneyhill started that game for the Patriots in 1991, as well as assistant coach Marcell Harrison, who scored nine points for the Patriots in the win.

About liberty The Lady Flames opened up their 2006-07 season on Nov. 11 with a 91-53 home victory over Norfolk State. Sophomore Megan Frazee, playing for the first time since suffering an ACL injury in January, led five Liberty players in double figures with 19 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Lady Flames' 91 points was the team's largest output since a 94-point outburst at Richmond on Dec. 4, 1999.

Last Time Out

George Mason women's basketball team opened up its season at #1 Maryland, the defending National Champion, on Nov. 12 in College Park, Md. and fell by a score of 99-43.

Junior guard Lateisha Wade led the Patriots in scoring with 15 points, which included a 8-for-13 showing from the line. Junior forward Moni Akintunde grabbed a team-high five rebounds, while senior guard Nikkia Slade added a team second-best six points in the loss.

Open Sesame Mason owns a 21-12 overall record in its first home contest since the start of Patriot women's basketball (1973-74). Last season, the Patriots claimed a 75-64 in their first game at Patriot Center over Mount St. Mary's on Nov. 19.

Mini-Break... After Mason's match-up with Liberty on Nov. 14, the Patriots do not have another game scheduled until their game against Howard on Nov. 28 in Washington, D.C.

They're Baaaack... Mason returns four starters from last year's squad in junior guard Lateisha Wade, senior forward Tracy Ann Holness, junior forward Moni Akintunde and redshirt-sophomore center Jessica Smith. Wade closed out the 2005-06 campaign as the Patriots' leading scorer with an average of 10.1 points per game and Holness finished second with 9.3 ppg. Akintunde averaged a team fourth-best 8.8 ppg and led the Patriots in rebound average with 7.2 rpg and Holness was second among teammates with 4.8 caroms per contest.

Traveling Locally... Three of Mason's non-conference away contests are in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area as the Patriots competed at Maryland (Nov. 12) and will face both Howard (Nov. 28) and American (Dec. 8) on each of those school's home courts.

Lone Freshman... Guard Raushana Hobbs is Mason's lone freshman this season. Hobbs is from Bowie, Md. and graduated from Riverdale Baptist. Hobbs' dad is Carl Hobbs, the head coach of George Washington's men's team.

RPI Rankings The CAA was the eighth-ranked Division I conference in the final RPI rankings compiled by the NCAA at the close of the 2005-06 season. The ranking was the best for the conference since 1997-98 and four of the league's 12 teams were in the top 76 (Old Dominion-20, JMU-55, Delaware-69 and Hofstra-76).

Strong returning numbers CAA teams return 75% (45-of-60) of their starting line-ups from a season ago. JMU, UNC Wilmington and Virginia Commonwealth have all five starters back, while Delaware, Mason, Hofstra, ODU and William & Mary have four starters returning.

Televised Games Mason had its match-up against Maryland televised on Comcast SportsNet and the Patriots will also have their contest televised at Virginia Commonwealth on Feb. 18.

Happy Birthday! Redshirt-sophomore center Jessica Smith will celebrate her 21st birthday on Nov. 14.

In the Professional Ranks Former Mason standout Jen Derevjanik became just the second Patriot to play in the WNBA. Derevjanik played the 2006 season with the Phoenix Mercury and was on the Connecticut Sun's roster for both the 2004 & 2005 seasons. Both years the Sun made it to the WNBA Finals.