Dec. 7, 2006

Next up for the Patriots:
Mason (3-2) at American (3-6)
December 8, 2006; 7 p.m.
Bender Arena (4,500)
Washington, D.C.

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Series Record... Mason leads the overall record against American, 27-18, and the Patriots have won five of the past six meetings. These two teams have not squared-off against one another since March 3, 2001 where Mason claimed a 69-51 victory at the Patriot Center. When playing on the Eagles home court, Mason is 11-10, and when competing in Fairfax, the Patriots own a 16-6 record against AU. These two teams have faced each other twice on neutral ground and the Eagles have won on both occasions.

Three In A Row... Mason has now won three-straight games as the Patriots claimed victories over Howard (80-77), Siena (61-44) and Northeastern (67-61). The last time Mason won three contests in a row was last season when the Patriots defeated Hofstra (67-65ot), Northeastern (76-65) and William & Mary (58-55) from Jan. 29-Feb. 5.

Leader of the Pack... Junior guard Casey Quigley led the Patriots in scoring on Dec. 5 as the Virginia native poured in 14 points after shooting 50 percent from the field in 25 minutes of play.

Taking `Em Away... Sophomore center Jessica Smith followed her career-high performance of 10 rebounds against Siena with nine caroms for a game-best in Mason's six-point win over Northeastern on Dec. 5.

Season High... Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness poured in a season-high and team second-best 13 points after shooting 6-of-9 from the field at Solomon Court on Tuesday.

First Half Dominance... As a team, Mason shot 63 percent from the field (19-of-30) compared to Northeastern's 32 percent in the first half on Dec. 5 in Boston.

Last Time Out... The Patriots extended their win streak to three after defeating Northeastern in women's basketball action by a score of 67-61 on Dec. 5 at Solomon Court in Boston, Mass. in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both squads.

Mason opened up the contest on a 7-0 scoring run, which included back-to-back baskets for five points from junior guard Casey Quigley, who ended with a team-high 14 points. With the Patriots leading 14-8, Mason went on to score 12 unanswered points in a five minute span, which included a nickel's worth from junior guard C'Vette Henson. At the 7:37 mark Northeastern sophomore guard Ashlee Feldman ended the Huskies scoring drought with a made trifecta to have the scoreboard read 26-11 in favor of Mason.

With just under seven minutes remaining in the first stanza, freshman guard Rashauna Hobbs collected her first collegiate steal and beat out one NU defender to make an easy lay-up to give Mason a 28-11 advantage. The Patriots shot 63 percent to the Huskies 32 in the first half to own a 20-point lead at the break (44-24).

With just under two minutes in the game, Mason led by just a point (60-59), but junior guard Lateisha Wade made the front end of a one-and-one to put the score at 61-59. After a Northeastern turnover, Quigley fought her way at the boards and tapped the ball in the basket with 58 seconds remaining to give Mason a 63-59 advantage. Wade then made four-straight attempts at the charity stripe to help secure Mason's first league win of the 2006-07 campaign.

Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness came off the bench to shoot 6-of-9 on the night for a team second-best 13 points, while sophomore center Jessica Smith grabbed a game-high nine boards, just one shy of her personal best.

Mason shot 46 percent on the night (26-of-57), while Northeastern shot 20-of-54. Mason outrebounded the Huskies, 35-31, and 23 of the Patriots caroms were on the defensive end. At the line, Mason was 11-of-14 (79 percent) and NU shot 88 percent (14-of-18).

Familiar Foes... American faced two CAA schools already this non-conference season as the Eagles fell to Delaware in Newark (71-54) on Nov. 17, which was followed by a 69-57 loss against Towson (Nov. 19). AU also faced Fordham, which is another school Mason will face this year, and the Eagles claimed a 78-53 victory on Nov. 10 in Brooklyn.

Short Trip... Mason will make the short trip to Washington, D.C. to face American on Dec. 8. This marks the third non-conference match-up that has been played in the area as the Patriots faced Maryland in College Park and Howard in D.C.

About American... American owns an overall record of 3-6 and heads into Friday's contest following a 78-57 win over Furman on Dec. 5 on the Eagles home court. AU edged UMBC, 61-60, in D.C. on Nov. 28 and also defeated Fordham (78-53) in New York. Liz Hayes leads AU with 15.4 points per game, while Letitia Curry is averaging a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game.

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.