Nov. 7, 2006

Box Score

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's women's basketball game played its lone exhibition contest of the 2006-07 campaign Tuesday night and defeated Columbia Union by a score of 82-44 at the Patriot Center.

Mason senior Nikkia Slade (Yorktown, Va.) led all scorers with 19 points and also matched teammate sophomore Chynelle Rogers (St. Thomas, V.I.) in rebounds with 12. Junior Whitney Ward (Columbia, Md.) came off the bench and poured in a game second-best 14 points, whiloe both junior Moni Akintunde (Laurel, Md.) and junior guard Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.) netted 11 for the Patriots. Every Patriot that saw playing time, collected at least one point, except for one player.

Junior guard Jada Richardson led Columbia Union with 17 points after shooting 5-of-12 from the field, including a perfect showing from the free throw line (5-of-5). Sophomore guard Noriko Soto tallied eight points, while sophomore forward Rebecca Breyer pulled down a team-high seven boards.

The Patriots shot 30 percent from the field (24-of-79), while the Pioneers were 16-of-65 from the field. Mason outrebounded Columbia Unionk, 70-43, and the Pioneers committed 31 turnovers to the Patriots' 23.

Mason will open up its 2006-07 season at Maryland, the defending National Champions, on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.