Nov. 13, 2008
Game Notes (PDF)
After months of preparation and excitement, the George Mason women's basketball team makes its debut under head coach Jeri Porter on Friday evening when it opens the season against Bucknell. Tip-off at Patriot Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Admission to the game is $5 for adults and $2 for youth and senior citizens. Friday's game is Faculty and Staff Night. Mason faculty and staff can receive up to four free tickets to the game by showing their Mason ID at the Patriot Center Box Office (West Entrance) on the day of the game.
The game can be followed live via Mason All-Access.
When the teams last met, senior Lateisha Wade drained a three-pointer with one second showing on the clock, but Mason fell just short at Bucknell on Dec. 4, 2007 in a 67-64 double-overtime defeat at Sojka Pavilion. It was Mason's first double-overtime game in nearly ten years, dating back to the 70-69 loss at California on December 19, 1997. Mason (3-4) held off the Bison (3-5) through three periods, but was outscored 8-5 in the second overtime to tally the loss. Wade finished one point shy of her career high with 25 points while senior Moni Akintunde tied a career high with 15 rebounds.
Bucknell is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, as the Bison won the Patriot League Championship and made their second NCAA Tournament appearance, falling to North Carolina in the first round. Bucknell finished with a 16-16 record, and return two of its starters while losing top scorer and rebounder Hope Foster, who averaged 11.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
The Patriots have historically found limited success in season-opening games, as Mason is 12-23 in the first game of the season dating back to the program's start in 1974. Last season, Mason dropped a 84-56 decision at ninth-ranked Georgia. The most recent victory in a season opener came three years ago, a 75-64 home triumph over Mount St. Mary's.
On Friday against Bucknell, head coach Jeri Porter will officially open her career at Mason. Among her six predecessors, the Patriots have earned a 3-3 mark in their mentor's first game. A win would not be uncharted territory for Porter, though; her Radford team defeated Savannah State, 86-57, in her Highlander debut on Nov. 23, 2002.
Mason has performed well outside the Colonial Athletic Association recently, as the Patriots earned six of their nine wins last season in non-conference action, including all five of the team's home out-of-conference contests.
In addition to the hiring of Jeri Porter as head coach, the Mason bench will look dramatically different in 2008-09 with three new assistant coaches. Jana Ashley, Greg Pulliam and Simone Edwards each were a member of Porter's staff at Radford last season, and joined Mason's staff for the 2008-09 season.
Last season, a record number of fans came out to support the Patriots at home, as Mason ranked fourth in the CAA by averaging 920 fans per home contest. The 12,879 fans who came through the turnstiles in 2007-08 is the largest season attendance in program history.
Following Friday's contest, the Patriots continue their season-opening homestand with a 2 p.m. tilt on Sunday against Richmond at Patriot Center.
