Jan. 21, 2009

The George Mason women's basketball team meets James Madison on Thursday night in Harrisonburg, the first repeat CAA opponent for the Patriots in 2008-09. Tip-off from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.

JMU enters the contest with an 11-5 record and a 4-1 mark in CAA play. The Dukes, who have won two games in a row following their only conference loss to VCU on Jan. 11, sport the nation's leading scorer in guard Dawn Evans, who is averaging 24.5 points per game. Kisha Stokes leads the Dukes off the glass with 7.3 rebounds per contest.

The Dukes lead the all-time series, 44-20, and have won the last eight matchups.

Mason is coming off a 59-43 home loss to Northeastern, in which the Patriots led by seven points at the half but fell prey to a 21-0 scoring run by the Huskies in the second half. Brittany Poindexter led the team for the third straight game with 10 points.

Last time they met, Mason faced a tough test in opening their CAA slate against James Madison, and after hanging with the Dukes through the early moments, Mason ultimately fell, 90-65, on Jan. 4 at Patriot Center. JMU (8-4, 1-0) used 60.7 percent field goal shooting, led by 29 points from Dawn Evans, to seize control of the game midway through the first half. The Patriots (2-9, 0-1), meanwhile, saw four scorers reach double figures as they eclipsed the 60-point mark for the third straight game. Brittany Eley was the top scorer for Mason with a career-high 18 points.

Thursday night is not the Patriots' lone trip to the Convocation Center this season, as JMU will play host to the 2009 CAA Women's Basketball Championship, scheduled to take place from March 12-15.