Feb. 28, 2007
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Game #28
George Mason (8-19. 2-15) vs. Drexel (8-20, 3-14)
March 1, 2007; 7 p.m.
Daskalakis Athletic Center (2,500)
Philadelphia, Pa.
Series Record...
The series between Mason and Drexel is even at five and DU leads the series, 1-3, when playing in Philly. The Dragons have won the past two meetings, including a two-point victory last season (38-36) on Jan. 22 in Fairfax. The last time Mason defeated Drexel was on March 4, 2005 by a score of 46-44 and the Patriots' last win in Philadelphia came on Feb. 13, 2003 (64-46).
Last Time Out...
On senior day, Mason's women's basketball team came up short and dropped a 65-56 decision to visiting William & Mary in a Colonial Athletic Association match-up on Feb. 25. Seniors Tracy Ann Holness (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Nikkia Slade (Yorktown, Va.) were both honored prior to tip-off in Mason's last home game of the season.
In the first half, Mason had its largest lead of five on two occasions, with the last coming at 13:10 after Holness converted a 3-point play to put the score at 10-5. William & Mary took the lead with about nine minutes remaining after Kyra Kaylor netted a 2-pointer, which was followed by a trifecta from teammate Courtney Portell to put the score at 17-13 in favor of the Tribe. With just over a minute left, Holness sank one from long range to give the Patriots a 25-23 advantage, which was the score at the break.
With the game tied at 33, Mason went on a 5-0 scoring run, which included two made free throws from junior guard Lateisha Wade (Willingboro, N.J.), who ended with a team-high 13 points. Junior guard Casey Quigley (Springfield, Va.) knotted the score at 44, after hitting a fadaway jumper with just under eight minutes remaining in the game. The Tribe responded and scored 10 unanswered points, four of which were at the charity stripe from Kaylor, who ended the game with a 15-of-16 showing at the line. Mason pulled within four after sophomore forward Whitney Ward (Columbia, Md.) made back-to-back 3-pointers (54-50), but that was the closest the Patriots would get as the Tribe made nine free throws down the stretch to secure its 17th win of the season.
Kaylor ended with a game-high 26 points for the Tribe, while Sarah Stroh netted a team second-best 12 points.
Mason shot 33 percent from the field (20-of-61), while the College made 18 of its 49 attempts (37 percent). The Tribe had a slight advantage on the boards, 41-39, and W&M committed 13 turnovers to the Patriots' 12.
Senior Day...
Prior to tip-off with William & Mary on the 25th, Mason honored seniors Tracy Ann Holness and Nikkia Slade for all of their hard work and dedication with Mason's women's basketball program.
Hello, March...
Since the 1987-88 season, Mason owns an overall record of 12-5 in its first game in the month of March and a 3-4 mark when welcoming March away from the Patriot Center.
Road Finale...
In the Patriots' final road game of the regular season, not including tournament play, Mason has a 7-14 record since the first season in the Colonial Athletic Association (1985-86).
Fighting at the Boards...
Junior guard Lateisha Wade tied her career-high in rebounds with an eight carom showing, which tied for a game-high, against the Tribe this past Sunday.
CAA's RPI Ranking...
The CAA continued to rank eighth among the nations 32 Division I conferences in women's basketball according to the RPI report compiled by Collegiate Basketball News through games of Feb. 11. The CAA finished ranked eighth in last season's final RPI report and had been 10th since the December 24th report and recently was ranked ninth in week nine. The CAA was ranked as high as sixth this season in the first RPI report.
In the Lead...
Junior guard Lateisha Wade has led the Patriots in scoring, or tied for the lead, on 13 occasions this season. Most recently, Wade netted a team-high 13 points against William & Mary on Feb. 25 at the Patriot Center.
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.
About Drexel...
Drexel heads into Thursday's match-up with an overall record of 8-20 and a league mark of 3-14. The Dragons have won two of their past three games, including a 98-90 win over Northeastern on Feb. 22 in Philly, which took an NCAA Division I record five overtimes to complete. In Drexel's last game, Delaware claimed a 64-36 win in Newark. Gabriela Marginean leads Drexel with 16.3 points per game and 7.9 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.
Helping Others...
Junior guard Lateisha Wade dished out a career-high eight assists against James Madison on Feb. 15 in Harrisonburg.
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.
