The #11-seeded George Mason women's basketball team begins its quest for its first-ever CAA Championship on Thursday when it faces Northeastern in first-round action at the Bob Carpenter Center. This is the third time the two teams will have met this season, with the Huskies taking both regular-season matchups. Historically, Mason is 11-11 in its first game of the CAA Tournament against opponents it has already faced twice that season.

The game is set to tip at 2:30 p.m., with live video available on CAAsports.com while WGMU Radio will have the call live from Newark.

Mason will take the court on Thursday with two of its student-athletes having been recognized for their outstanding performance in the classroom. Senior Casey Quigley and sophomore Rashauna Hobbs were recognized on Wednesday evening as members of the CAA's All-Academic second team. Quigley is a psychology major with a 3.29 GPA, while Hobbs has earned a 3.39 while majoring in management.

Northeastern arrives in Newark with a six-game winning streak, capped off by the regular-season finale overtime win at Mason. NU finished the regular season with a 13-15 record (8-10 CAA), and is led on offense by All-CAA second team honoree Shaleyse Smallwood, who is averaging 13.1 points per game. Mason holds a 4-2 advantage in the all-time series against NU, while the Patriots have a 6-2 record in the CAA Tournament when facing the #6 seed historically.

Last time out, four Patriots scored in double figures for the first time this season, but three 3-pointers from Northeastern's Ashlee Feldman sent the Huskies to a regular-season finale 83-77 overtime victory over George Mason on Thursday evening at Patriot Center. Mason finishes the 2007-08 regular season campaign with a 9-20 record, 3-14 in the CAA. Mason saw four scorers reach double digits, led by senior Moni Akintunde's 21 points. Joining her were fellow senior Lateisha Wade, who had 11 points, as well as sophomore Rashauna Hobbs and freshman Brittany Eley, who chipped in 16 and 12, respectively. NU was paced by a 21-point outing from Lucia Pablos, while three other Huskies reached double digits as well. Thursday was the final home game for four Mason seniors, as Akintunde and Wade, along with C'Vette Henson and Casey Quigley, were honored prior to tip-off.

Mason returns to the Bob Carpenter Center for the CAA Tournament this week, a venue that historically has been unkind to the Patriots. Mason is 1-7 at the Bob, with the lone victory coming on Feb. 10 against Delaware, a 52-42 win which represented the Patriots' most recent victory.

Mason has marked a drastic improvement in the number of assists it is dishing out per game towards the end of the season, as Mason has recorded 12 or more dimes six times in the second half of the season. In the Patriots' last six games, they have recorded more assists than their opponent four times, and topped their season high in the final two games with 17 and 18 against Drexel and Northeastern, respectively.

While the 2007-08 season has been trying at times for the Patriots, Mason has improved on a number of stats by one from a season ago. The nine wins and three conference victories are both one higher than the 2006-07 total, while the #11 seed is one better than Mason's #12 seed in last year's tournament.

Mason historically prefers its second year at a CAA Championship venue, as the Patriots are 5-2 in their first game of a tournament being held at a site for the second-straight year, versus a 1-6 mark in the first year. Delaware hosted the tournament last season.

With a win against the Huskies on Thursday, Mason will face the third-seeded VCU Rams on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the CAA quarterfinal round.