Nov. 30, 2006

Next up for the Patriots:
George Mason (1-2) vs. Siena (1-5)
December 2, 2006; 4 p.m.
Patriot Center (Fairfax, Va.)

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Series Record... The overall series between Mason and Siena is even at three, including a 2-2 tie when playing at the Patriot Center. The last time these two teams met was on Dec. 31, 2005 and Siena claimed a 78-69 victory in Loudonville, N.Y. These two teams have not squared-off in Fairfax since Jan. 9, 1994 where the Patriots fell by a score of 70-68.

Doublin' Up... Four players netted double figures against the Bison Tuesday night in Lateisha Wade (22), Moni Akintunde (19), Casey Quigley (14) and Jessica Smith (10).

Watching Wade... Lateisha Wade shot 70 percent from the field against Howard and did not miss one 3-point attempt (3-of-3) and was also perfect from the line (5-of-5) to tally 22 points on Tuesday. The point total matches her personal best and also marks the third time this season in which she has poured in double figure points.

Double Time... Junior forward Moni Akintunde collected her first double-double of the season as she pulled down a game-high 13 boards and also added a team second-best 19 points at Howard on Nov. 28.

Giving to Charity... Junior guard Casey Quigley also shot perfection from the charity stripe in Mason's 3-point win over Howard as she went 4-of-4 Tuesday evening.

This is Not a First... Siena comes into the Patriot Center already having already competed against a CAA school this season. The Saints dropped a 69-66 overtime decision to Drexel on Nov. 29 at the Pepsi Center in Albany, N.Y.

Last Time Out... George Mason University's women's basketball team notched its first win of the 2006-07 campaign as the Patriots defeated Howard by a score of 80-77 in Washington, D.C. at Burr Gymnasium on Nov. 28.

Mason began the game with on a 11-2 run, which included back-to-back treys from junior guard Lateisha Wade. The New Jersey native was perfect from the field in the first half as she shot 5-of-5, three of which were from beyond the arc. Sophomore center Jessica Smith was also perfect in the first 20 minutes as she was 3-of-3 from the field.

Junior forward Moni Akintunde, who tallied a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, scored the first six points for Mason in the second stanza to give Mason a 47-39 lead. With about eight minutes remaining in the contest, Akintunde converted a three-point play as she made her way through a few Howard defenders, was then fouled and made her attempt at the line to give Mason a 66-59 lead. At the 7:10 mark, junior guard Casey Quigley dished out one of her three assists of the night to Smith, who made her lay-up attempt to put the score at a 68-61 Mason advantage.

Howard pulled within two after junior guard Christina Aden made both of her attempts at the line to put the score at 68-66 at the six-minute mark. Mason followed up with a 5-0 run, which included a made trifecta by Quigley and two free throws by Wade to put the score at 73-68.

Only being ahead by one point, Wade netted a 2-pointer, was fouled on the play and made her attempt at the charity stripe to put the score at 76-72 with four minutes showing on the clock.

Howard made three-straight free throws to pull within three (80-77) with just 17 seconds left in the contest. After a timeout, HU junior guard Shannon Carlisle took a desperation shot from midcourt at the buzzer and missed, which gave Mason the 80-77 victory.

Mason shot 57 percent from the field (31-of-54), while HU was 24-of-62 (39 percent). Bison edged the Patriots on the boards, 34-32, while Mason had five blocks to HU's three.

About Siena... The Saints head into Saturday's match-up with an overall record of 1-5. Siena's lone win of the 2006-07 campaign thus far came at a tournament in New Mexico as the Saints defeated Western Illinois by a score of 82-65 on Nov. 24. Junior forward Laura Menty leads the Saints in points with 16.0 points per game and also averages a team second-best 6.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Heather Stec leads Siena in rebounds (6.5 rpg), while junior guard Melissa Manzer has dished out a team-high 26 assists through six games.

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.

New Signees... George Mason University's head women's basketball coach Debbie Taneyhill has announced that four student-athletes have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Patriot basketball squad, beginning with the 2007-08 season. The signees include: Eugenia Broadus (F, 6-1, Washington, D.C./Archbishop Carroll), Brittany Eley (G, 5-11, Waldorf, Md./West Lake), Tayler Wejnert (G, 5-11, Ramsey, N.J./Academy of Holy Angels) and Brittney Wilkins (F/C, 6-3, Cincinnati, Ohio/Montrose Christian/Louisburg JC).

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 (Feb. 18).

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.