Feb. 17, 2007

Game #25
George Mason (8-16. 2-12) vs. VCU (13-11, 6-8)
February 18, 2007; 4 p.m.
Stuart C. Siegel Center (7,500)
Richmond, Va.

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Series Record... Mason leads the overall series with Virginia Commonwealth, 26-22, and the series is tied at 11 when playing in Richmond. Last season these teams met three times and the Rams won both meeting during the regular season: Jan. 8 (57-55) in Richmond and Feb. 19 (58-54) in Fairfax. The final time these two squads met in 2006 was in the first round of the CAA Championship and the Patriots prevailed with a 74-60 victory over VCU on March 8 at the Patriot Center. Earlier this year, VCU edged the Patriots by a score of 57-54 on Feb. 4 in Fairfax.

On Television... Mason's contest at Virginia Commonwealth on Feb. 18 will be televised on Comcast SportsNet at 4 p.m. Al Koken will serve as the play-by-play commentator and Jody Lavin-Patrick is the color analyst.

Last Time Out...

George Mason University's women's basketball team dropped an 88-60 decision to 25th ranked James Madison in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up on Feb. 15 at the JMU Convocation Center.

The game was close in the early stages, with five lead changes and two ties in the opening six minutes of the game. The score was tied 12-12 at 14:00.

JMU then outscored Mason 21-5 over a span of 7:33 to lead by 16 (33-17 at 6:17). Twelve of the Dukes' points came on 3-point field goals and the Dukes led 43-28 at intermission.

JMU's lead grew in the second half as the Dukes were up by as many as 31 points at times (86-55 at 2:18 and 88-57 at 1:34) and the Patriots were never able to battle back from the deficit.

The Patriots had two players scoring in double-figures. Redshirt senior forward Tracy Ann Holness (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ the King) finished with a team-high 18 points, while junior guard Lateisha Wade (Willingboro, N.J./Marshall) added 14.

Wade and junior forward Moni Akintunde (Laurel, Md./Laurel) led the Patriots in rebounding by snagging six rebounds each. Wade also handed out eight assists.

James Madison senior center Meredith Alexis broke the school career scoring record as she got her record-breaking point on a free throw with 1:52 remaining in the first half.

Helping Others... Junior guard Lateisha Wade dished out a career-high eight assists against James Madison on Feb. 15 in Harrisonburg.

In the Records... Junior forward Moni Akintunde is 17th in Mason's all-time record books with 519 career rebounds.

Rebounding a Plenty... Junior Casey Quigley tied her season-high of rebounds as she pulled down five versus the Dukes this past Thursday.

First Meeting...

On Feb. 4, Mason dropped a 57-54 decision to the visiting Virginia Commonwealth Rams in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up at the Patriot Center.

After being down by two, Mason responded with a 7-2 run to put the score at 17-12 at the 10:32 mark after junior guard Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.), who ended with a team-high 15 points, dished out a pass to senior forward Tracy Ann Holness (Brooklyn, N.Y.) who netted a 2-pointer for one of her two made field goals of the first half. The Patriots had their largest lead of the opening stanza with just over four minutes remaining (23-16) after Quigley sank one from long range. Holness scored the final basket of the half with one second reading on the clock and Mason went into the break with a six-point advantage (24-18).

About eight minutes into the second half, Mason matched its largest lead of the game of 14 (37-23) after senior forward Nikkia Slade (Yorktown, Va.) netted a 2-pointer. VCU pulled ahead for the first time since the opening minutes of the contest after La'Tavia Rorie made a layup at the 5:08 mark (44-43).

The Patriots tied it at 45 after Quigley made both of her attempts at the line, but that was the closest Mason would get in the closing minutes. The Rams took their largest lead of eight with 26 seconds left (57-49) after Michele Cosel sank both free throws. Mason then pulled within three (57-54) with nine seconds remaining after Quigley sank a trey, but she missed her attempt from long range as time expired, which would have sent the game into overtime.

VCU center Quanitra Hollingsworth ended with a game-high 19 points and her 21st career double-double as she grabbed a game-best 13 boards. Michele Cosel added 13 for the Rams, while Brittany Pinkney pulled down a career-best 11 caroms.

Mason shot 37 percent from the field (19-of-51), while VCU made 19 of its 58 attempts (33 percent). The Rams edged the Patriots on the boards, 44-41, and Mason shot 61 percent from the charity stripe to VCU's 52 percent.

Taking From Charity... As a team, Mason shot 92 percent (22-of-24) from the free throw line against UD on Feb. 4 for a new season-high.

Nickel's Worth... Senior forward Tracy Ann Holness has led the Patriots in scoring five times this season. Most recently, Holness led the Patriots in scoring at James Madison with 18 points on Feb. 15 in Harrisonburg.

About VCU... Virginia Commonwealth has won three of its past four games, including a 68-54 victory over William & Mary on Feb. 15 at the Siegel Center. VCU's most recent loss was against #25 James Madison on Feb. 8 (76-63) in Richmond. Krystal Vaughn leads the Rams with 15.6 points per game, while Quanitra Hollingsworth averages a team-best 9.2 rebounds per contest.

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.