Jan. 31, 2007

Game #20
George Mason (8-11. 2-7) vs. UNC Wilmington (6-13, 2-6)
February 1, 2007; 7 p.m.
Trask Coliseum (6,100)
Wilmington, N.C.

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Series Record... The Patriots lead the overall series between UNC Wilmington, 32-18, including a 13-9 advantage in North Carolina. The last win for the Patriots against the Seahawks came on Jan. 20, 2005 by a score of 59-53 in Wilmington, N.C. The Seahawks edged the Patriots earlier this season on Jan. 4 by a score of 59-57 at the Patriot Center.

First Meeting...

On Jan. 4, junior forward Moni Akintunde, who tied for a game-high 18 points, put Mason up by one with just 16 seconds remaining, but Lori Drake tipped in a lay-up for UNCW with one second left and converted the 3-point play to give the Seahawks a 59-57 win in Fairfax.

The game was close the entire first 20 minutes as the lead changed eight times and the score was tied on six occasions. At the five minute mark, sophomore center Jessica Smith gave Mason a two-point advantage (23-21) after making a circus type shot in between two defenders. Then, in the closing minute, junior forward Whitney Ward made Mason's final field goal of the half and Mason went into the break down, 33-27.

Mason opened up the second stanza on a 6-0 scoring run to tie the game at 33 just four minutes in the half. UNCW answered as the Seahawks made back-to-back trifectas to give UNCW a 39-33 lead.

The Patriots scored six unanswered points to knot the contest at 43 (10:06), which included a made lay-up by junior guard Lateisha Wade. She was fouled on the play and sank her attempt at the line to give Mason its first lead in 16 minutes (44-43). There were four lead changes and one tie in the final minute and Akintunde scored Mason's final four points, but the Patriots were not able to hold and dropped their first conference game of the season.

Drake finished with 18 points after shooting 7-of-13 from the field, while Greta Luksyte and Sahsha Taylor each tallied double figure points with 15 and 12, respectively.

February Firsts... Since the start of George Mason WBB (1973-74), the Patriots hold 22-10 overall mark in their first game in February, which includes a 9-7 record on the road. Last season Mason claimed a 76-65 victory over visiting Northeastern on Feb. 3.

Back in Time... Mason has not faced UNC Wilmington on the Seahawks' home court in the month of February since the 2003-04 season. The Patriots fell by a score of 63-54 on Feb. 8.

Last Time Out...

Mason's women's basketball team dropped a 67-47 decision to Delaware in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up at the Bob Carpenter Center on Jan. 28.

Mason pulled within one at the 18:32 mark after junior forward Moni Akintunde (Laurel, Md.) netted a lay-up to put the score at 6-5. Junior guard Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.) sank one from beyond the arc, which dwindled UD's lead to just five (18-13) about eight minutes into the game, which was the closest the Patriots would get to the Blue Hens in the closing minutes of the half. UD had its largest lead of the stanza (17) at the 4:09 mark (32-15) and went into the break with a 36-23 advantage.

UD netted a field goal in the opening seconds of the second half, but Mason did not let them score another basket from the field until Melissa Czorniewy made a jumper at the 10:27 mark. Sophomore forward Whitney Ward (Columbia, Md.) made both of her attempts at the line at 5:37 (55-39) and Akintunde, who ended with 12 points on the night for her tenth double figure point total showing of the season, put Mason's point total to 41 with just over four minutes remaining. Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness (Brooklyn, N.Y.) sank her 79th career trifecta (3:00), which had the scoreboard reading 63-45, and Ward scored Mason's final two points of the afternoon as she sank both tries at the charity stripe with 30 seconds left in the game.

Tyresa Smith sank a game-high 15 points for the Blue Hens, while Chrissy Fisher added 13 and pulled down a game-best nine boards.

No One's Perfect?... That's not true for junior guard Whitney Ward who was flawless from the line at Towson on Jan. 21 as she made all 12 of her attempts. Ward also went 4-for-4 at the line at Delaware on Jan. 28. Ward is currently ranked fourth among her conference peers as she owns a season free throw percentage of 87 percent (40-of-46).

In the Rankings... The CAA is ranked 10th among the nations 32 Division I conferences in women's basketball according to the RPI report compiled by Collegiate Basketball News through games of Jan. 28. The CAA finished ranked eighth in last season's final RPI report and the league ranked as high as sixth this season in the first RPI report.

From the Line... Mason shot a season-high 86 percent from the free throw line against Towson as the Patriots made 25 of their 29 attempts.

Two In a Row... Mason's match-up at Wilmington marks the second-straight road game for the Patriots. This is the first time Mason has played two consecutive contests away from the Patriot Center since Mason played three straight on the road over the holiday break back in December.

About UNC Wilmington... UNC Wilmington owns an overall record of 6-13 and a 2-6 mark in Colonial Athletic Association play. The Seahawks head into Thursday's match-up coming off of a 64-56 win at Northeastern this past Sunday. Prior to that victory, UNCW had lost six-straight, including a double overtime loss to Georgia State on Jan. 28 in Wilmington (78-76). Lori Drake leads the Seahawks with an average of 12.9 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per contest.

Beyond the Arc... Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness is currently 10th in the conference in 3-point field goals made with an average of 1.37.

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.

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).

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.