Feb. 2, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Fairfax, Va.--George Mason University's women's basketball team returns to its home court for the first time since Jan. 22 as the Patriots will host Northeastern on Feb. 3 with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. Mason currently owns an overall mark of 6-12 (2-7 CAA), while Northeastern is 7-11 on the season (3-6).

Not only is this Northeastern's first year in the CAA, but this will also mark the first-ever meeting between these two schools.

Mason heads into Friday's game coming off of a 67-65 overtime victory against Hofstra for the Patriots' third-straight win in Hempstead, N.Y. and Mason has now won five of the past six meetings versus the Pride. Five Patriots scored in double figures against HU, including junior forward Tracy Ann Holness (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who led all scorers with 16 points and also tallied game-highs, as well as new personal-bests in both blocks (5) and steals (6). Sophomore forward Moni Akintunde (Laurel, Md.) tallied her fifth double-double of the season as she scored a team second-best 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, which matched her career-high.

Akintunde is currently 20th in overall games among her conference peers in points (10.7 ppg) and is tied for sixth with 8.2 rebounds per game. In addition, senior guard Jen Daniels (Brigantine, N.J.) stands in ninth place in 3-point field goals made with 31 and is 11th as she has shot 31 percent from beyond the arc through 18 games.

Northeastern enters Friday's match-up on a two-game winning streak and have won four of its past five games. This past weekend, the Huskies defeated Virginia Commonwealth at home by a score of 87-80 and went on to claim a 58-54 victory against Georgia State in Boston.

Senior guard Maralene Zwarich received CAA Women's Basketball Co-Player of the Week honors after averaging 18.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in back-to-back conference wins last weekend. The senior guard led the Huskies on Friday against VCU with 25 points and was 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Against Georgia State, Zwarich posted her second double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.

Shaleyse Smallwood leads Northeastern in points per game with 14.5 after playing in every game and starting 14 of those contests, while Zwarich (12.6) and Ashlee Feldman (11.9) also average double figures for the Huskies.

The Patriots will face William & Mary on Sunday in Williamsburg at 2 p.m. for the second time this season. Mason defeated the Tribe in Fairfax on Jan. 15 by a score of 70-51 for its first conference win of the season.