Feb. 7, 2008

The George Mason women's basketball team will try to halt a three-game losing streak with a tough home test against the 13/14th-ranked Old Dominion Lady Monarchs. The Patriots will try to make history Thursday night, as they have never defeated ODU in 40 tries. Game time at Patriot Center is set for 7 p.m.

The Lady Monarchs come to Fairfax as the only team in the CAA with a perfect conference record, as they are 9-0 in the league and 18-3 overall. ODU is led by T.J. Jordan, who is averaging 14.1 points per game, as the Lady Monarchs are outscoring their opponents on average by 14.7 points. Tiffany Green and Megan Pym are the top rebounders, pulling down 7.4 rebounds per night.

In their last action, a late run by Virginia Commonwealth allowed the Rams to pull away from the Patriots for a 63-51 CAA victory Sunday afternoon before 2,524 fans at Patriot Center, the fourth-largest home crowd in Mason women's basketball history. Mason (8-12, 2-7 CAA) dropped its third-straight game, while the Rams improved to 17-3, 7-2 in the conference. Mason was led by double-figure outings from seniors Lateisha Wade and Moni Akintunde, who chipped in 14 and 10 points each. The Rams, who held a 44-24 rebounding advantage, were led by 20 points from Krystal Vaughn.

While George Mason is winless against Old Dominion dating back to the 1974-75 season, the Patriots are not alone in that boat. Four other CAA teams have yet to record a victory over the Lady Monarchs. The four are UNC Wilmington (0-36), Towson (0-10), Northeastern (0-4), and Georgia State (0-6).

This season, seniors Moni Akintunde and Lateisha Wade have both vaulted into the top 25 among all-time leading scorers at Mason. Akintunde currently sits 20th with 867 points, while Wade is right behind her, as her 855 points are 21st in the record books.

Following Thursday's game, Mason begins a road swing in which it will play three of its next four games away from Patriot Center, as the Patriots travel to Delaware for a 1 p.m. tip on Sunday.