Nov. 15, 2009

The George Mason women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in the young 2009-10 campaign as it travels to nearby Richmond for a matchup with its former Colonial Athletic Association rival. Tip time from the Robins Center is set for 4 p.m.

Mason enters the game with an unblemished record after winning its season opener Friday night, a 66-49 triumph over Norfolk State at the Patriot Center. Redshirt junior Ashleigh Braxton led the way with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

The Patriots were able to reverse a trend against Norfolk State on Friday in season openers, as the win over the Spartans was Mason's first in a season opener since the 2005-06 season. Mason is now 8-20 in the first game of the season dating back to the 1982-83 season, Mason's first in Division I.

Richmond enters the contest with a 1-0 victory after winning its season opener Friday night, a 65-42 rout of Western Carolina. Brittani Shells had 16 points to lead a trio of Spiders in double figure scoring and the Spiders shot 45.3 percent from the field (29-64) while committing seven fewer turnovers than the Catamounts. Last season, UR finished fifth in the Atlantic 10 with a 9-5 record (24-10 overall).

Last time the two teams met, Becky Cox scored 10 points on 80 percent field goal shooting in her collegiate debut to lead the Mason in a 75-46 loss to in-state foe Richmond on Nov. 16, 2008 at Patriot Center. Cox led the Patriots with seven rebounds and four assists as well. Brittany Poindexter swiped four steals to go with her eight points and four rebounds. Richmond, which shot 46.4 percent from the field (26-for-56) for the game, was led by 16 points from Danielle Bell, who did not miss a shot in the contest.

The Spiders lead the all-time series between the former conference rivals, 30-21, including wins in the last four matchups. Mason's last victory came at the Robins Center, an 80-76 win on Feb. 13, 1999.

Following Monday's contest, Mason has one more in-state road trip this week, traveling to Virginia Tech on Thursday night for a 7 p.m. tilt against the Hokies in Blacksburg.