Dec. 20, 2008

The George Mason women's basketball team returns to action after a two-week break for exams when it travels to face Howard on Sunday afternoon. The game, which is set to begin at 2 p.m. at Burr Gymnasium, features two teams searching for their first victory of the year as both squads have 0-8 records.

Howard enters Sunday's contest seeking its first win of the year, as the Bison are 0-8, including a 66-36 loss at St. John's on Tuesday in their most recent action. Zykia Brown leads the team with 15.8 points per game, while Tamaya Daniels is the Bison's top rebounder, pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game.

The Patriots have done an excellent job of finding offense across their lineup, as six different players led the team in scoring through the first six games. All have been double-digit performances, with the highest single-game total thus far coming from Brittany Poindexter, who chipped in 20 points in the season opener. On Dec. 4 at Longwood, Brittney Wilkins was the first repeat points leader as she led Mason with 10.

Last time the Patriots and Bison met, Mason (1-2) notched its first win of the 2006-07 campaign as the Patriots defeated Howard (0-8) by a score of 80-77 in Washington, D.C. at Burr Gymnasium. Mason began the game with on a 11-2 run, which included back-to-back treys from junior guard Lateisha Wade, who was perfect from the field in the first half as she shot 5-of-5, three of which were from beyond the arc. Sophomore center Jessica Smith was also perfect in the first 20 minutes as she was 3-of-3 from the field.

Mason closes out a season-long five-game road trip on Sunday at Howard, as the Patriots will have played in five different states (Fla., N.C., Va., S.C., D.C.) in fi ve straight games, something which has never before happened in program history.

On the Howard bench for Sunday's matchup will be two names that are familiar to fans of the women's basketball program at Mason. Two of the Bison's assistant coaches, Jimmy Howard and Julie Flanders, have ties to Mason. Howard was an assistant at Mason for seven season (2001-07) while Flanders was a four-year standout from 2001-05 for the Patriots.