Dec. 4, 2006

Next up for the Patriots:
George Mason (2-2) at Northeastern (0-5)
December 5, 2006; 7 p.m.
Boston, Mass. (Solomon Court)

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Series Record... Mason and Northeastern have only met twice and the Patriots have won both meetings. The last time these two teams met was on Feb. 12, 2006 and Mason won by a score of 67-58 in a midst of a snowstorm in Boston.

Reaching for Rebounds... Sophomore center Jessica Smith grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in Mason's 17-point win over Siena on Dec. 2.

Double Time... Junior guard Lateisha Wade has netted double digit points every game thus far this season, including a 13 point showing against the Saints at the Patriot Center on Dec. 2.

Open Sesame... Since its first year in the Colonial Athletic Association (1985-86), Mason is 10-11 overall in its conference openers, including a 5-5 mark when opening on the road. The last time the Patriots played their first league contest of the season on the road, Mason dropped a 72-60 decision against Towson on Jan. 2, 2005.

Less Than 50... Mason kept Siena to under 50 points (61-44) and the last time Mason held its opponent to under 50 points was on Feb. 26, 2006 in a 50-45 win over Towson on the Patriots' home court.

Making `Em From Long Range... Mason shot 7-of-12 from beyond the arc against Siena (Dec. 2). The last time Mason poured in seven or more treys in a game was on Feb. 24, 2006 when the Patriots netted 10 in a 83-70 win at Georgia State.

Last Time Out...

George Mason University's women's basketball team captured a 61-44 win over Siena at the Patriot Center on Dec. 2.

Mason took its first lead of the game about four minutes into the contest after junior forward Moni Akintunde, who netted a game-high 17 points, made a 2-pointer to put the score at 6-5. After being tied, 9-9, junior guard Lateisha Wade made back-to-back buckets to give Mason a 14-9 advantage at the 13:53 mark.

With less than four minutes remaining in the first half, Akintunde netted a trey off a pass from junior guard Casey Quigley to put the score at 24-15 in favor of the Patriots. After a turnover by Siena junior guard Melissa Manzer, Akintunde gave Mason its largest lead of the first stanza (11) with a made jumper and the Patriots went into the break with a 10-point lead (29-19).

Mason went on a 12-1 run in a five minute span, which was capped off by a made trey from senior forward Tracy Ann Holness to put the score at 48-32 at 9:18. The Patriots took their largest lead of the game (18) after junior C'Vette Henson poured in one of Mason's seven made 3-pointers of the day at 5:31 to have the scoreboard read, 53-35. Sophomore center Jessica Smith grabbed two of her career-high 10 rebounds in the last three minutes of the contest.

Mason shot 44 percent (21-of-48) on the day, while the Siena shot 17-of-44 from the field. The Patriots had a slight advantage on the boards, 31-28, and 19 of Mason's caroms were on the defensive end.

Making Her Debut... Freshman guard Raushana Hobbs played in her first collegiate game against Siena (Dec. 2) and made her lone attempt from long range in six minutes of play.

Talking About Tuesday... Mason has played in one other game on a Tuesday this year and claimed an 80-77 win over Howard in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 28.

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.

About Northeastern... Northeastern heads into Tuesday's contest with an overall record of 0-5 and an 0-2 mark when playing at home. Ashlee Feldman leads the Huskies in points with an average of 15.0 ppg, while Stefanie Hodell leads NU with 5.2 rebounds per contest. Like Mason, the Huskies opened up their 2006-07 campaign at a ranked opponent and dropped a 102-49 decision to #6 Duke in Durham, N.C. on Nov. 11.

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.