Dec. 28, 2006

Next up for the Patriots:
Fla. International Tournament
Dec. 29: George Mason (4-3) vs. Fla. International (7-3)
Dec. 30: Mason vs. Kansas State (10-1)/Rice (7-4)
Miami, Fla. (Pharmed Arena)

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Series Record... In the history of George Mason women's basketball, the Patriots have never squared-off with any of the teams in the Florida International Tournament field.

About The Competition...

Florida International heads into the tournament on a four-game win streak and the Panthers own an overall mark of 7-3. FIU is 5-1 thus far this season when playing on their home court with the only loss coming against Tulane (69-64) on Nov. 25. The last time the Panthers dropped a contest was at South Florida by a score of 96-73 on Nov. 30.

Kansas State has one loss through 11 games and have won its past seven contests. The only loss came against Wisconsin (56-53) on Nov. 24 at the UNLV Lady Rebel Shootout, which puts the Wildcats record when playing on neutral ground, 1-1.

Rice is playing on a neutral court for the first time this season and the Owls own an overall record of 7-4. Rice heads into this tournament following a 86-58 loss at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 21.

Last Time Out...

George Mason University's women's basketball team had its four-game win streak snapped as the Patriots dropped a 76-51 decision to No. 11 Georgia in a non-conference match-up on Dec. 20 at the Patriot Center.

Junior guard Lateisha Wade led the Patriots in scoring with 17 points after shooting 6-of-15 from the field, including two 3-pointers. Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness shot 50 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-8) and ended with a team second-best 16 points on the night. Senior guard Nikkia Slade grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while junior guard Casey Quigley added three assists for Mason in the loss.

Tasha Humphrey's came off the bench for the Lady Bulldogs to net a game-high 22 points after shooting 9-of-13 from the field. UGA had three others score in double figures in Megan Darrah (11), Angel Robinson (11) and Cori Chambers (10).

This marked the second meeting for Mason against a ranked opponent this season. The Patriots opened up the 2006-07 campaign with a 99-43 loss at #1 Maryland.

Off The Bench... Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness came off the bench to score a team second-best 16 points after shooting 33 percent from the field, which included four from long range. This marks the third time this season in which Holness has scored double digits and 16 also matches her season-high.

All Boarded Up... Senior forward Nikkia Slade grabbed a game-high eight rebounds against #11 Georgia (Dec. 20) to mimic her career-best.

Centering on Career-High... Sophomore center Chynelle Rogers started the second game of her career against Georgia on Dec. 20 and matched her personal-best in minutes with 20.

Leading the Wade... Junior guard Lateisha Wade has now led or tied the Patriots as the leading scorer in a single contest five times. Most recently, Wade netted a team-high 17 points in Mason's loss to #11 Georgia on Dec. 21.

From the Line... Mason has now shot 70 percent or better from the charity stripe in the past six games. The Patriots shot 12-of-17 against the Lady Bulldogs for a 71 percent showing on Dec. 20.

In The Stands... Against #11 Georgia (Dec. 20), the attendance count was 563, which is a season-high home attendance and the second highest thus far this season.

Stealing Away... Lateisha Wade tallied a team-high three steals against #11 Georgia (Dec. 20) and has collected at least one steal in every contest except one.

Top 10... In the Collegiate Basketball News Division I Conference RPI, the Colonial Athletic Association is currently ranked 10th in women's basketball.

Not Since 2004... Mason won four-straight games as the Patriots claimed victories over Howard (80-77), Siena (61-44), Northeastern (67-61) and American (60-53). The last time the Patriots won four consecutive contests was during the 2003-04 season when Mason won five in a row during the month of February.

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.