There is a hidden basketball treasure at the Patriot Center - Taleia Moton. The fifth-year senior may be the best-kept secret in the DC metro area. Nobody - male or female, collegian or pro (OK, so the NBA hasn't started yet) - is on a hot streak like the fifth-year senior guard.

She's an undersized player - her 5-6 listing and claim to be 130 pounds are hyperbole - with oversized production who you can't miss on the court. She's dynamic and versatile. She's a determined scorer and a creative passer. She can be a defensive demon. She'd rather talk about the team than herself: "What I really want this year is a conference championship."

Thanks in large part to Moton, the Patriots (6-1) are off to their best start in 11 seasons. In the last three games -- wins against UNC Asheville, UMass and Old Dominion -- Moton has averaged 31.7 points on 67.3 percent shooting from the floor and  60 percent from behind the arc, in addition to 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 4.0  steals and just 1.3 turnovers per contest.

It's not just the numbers that are impressive. It's the way she plays the game. She's unselfish and efficient, averaging just 18.3 shots per game during the stretch. She's quicker than quick and spectacular with her acrobatic drives to the hoop against much taller opponents. She's not just a slasher. She can also catch and shoot or pull up off the dribble. She'd have more assists if her creative passes were converted into layups.

It's enough to make you want to throw up your hands and shout, which several of the men's team players were doing during her 32-point effort in a 55-52 win against UMass. "She's fun to watch," says senior Ryan Pearson, a candidate for CAA player of the year. "She's so quick and she does these 'dipsy-doodle' plays. She's so small, but she plays so hard. I just love watching her play."

Maybe most importantly is the savvy she's shown in averaging 24.7 points for the season and earning the last two CAA co-player of the week awards. "The best thing is that all this is flowing: she's getting her points in the flow of the offense, not forcing anything, letting the game come to her," says Mason coach Jeri Porter, who, six years ago, recruited Moton to Radford. "She knows what we need and when we need it."

The 85-69 CAA opener Sunday against ODU is a good example. The Patriots led by 10 at halftime. Moton then dominated the start of the second half, scoring 12 points and assisting on two baskets to give the Patriots a 56-42 lead with 13:28 left and control of the game.

"I don't think I tried to take over; I wouldn't call it that per se," says Moton. "I just try to step up when my team needs me. We try to take the approach to make a statement in the first four minutes of the second half. I'm trying to be a leader on the team this year. If that means scoring the first couple of points to set that tone, then of course I'll try to take that role on for us." Moton has evolved into a complete player thanks in part to encouragement from and work with her father, Jerrod Moton. "My father always preached to me to be an all-around player," Moton says. "My game developed. I wasn't always the all-around guard you see now.

"I can say that every year I try to get better and better. I see how people defend me. One year I was just that penetrator and needed to develop my shot. Last year I knew my three-point shooting wasn't where I wanted it to be or where the coaches wanted it. This past offseason I've been in the gym working on my threes and working on free throws. It definitely wasn't an overnight process."

Porter has also been influential in Moton's development. The two Prince Georges County products first joined up in 2006, when Moton committed to Radford as a senior at Suitland High School. "There was a connection immediately," Moton says. "She just gives you that warm and sincere feeling as a person and coach that she has your best interests at heart."

Porter left Radford for Mason after Moton's freshman year and urged Moton to stay. After her sophomore year, Moton transferred to Mason and had to sit out the 2009-10 season according to NCAA transfer rules. Last season she played out of position at point guard, averaging a team-high 12.2 points per game with a high of 23.

"She's a 2-guard trapped in a point guard's body," says Porter.

The move to the wing this season became possible because of the emergence of junior Rahneeka Saunders as point guard. "I've always told Rahneeka she is a better point guard than I am. Honestly," says Moton, who rooms with Saunders. "She has a good view of the court. She's a scoring point guard. But if there was a  decision between taking the last shot of the game  or making a great assist, Rahneeka would rather take that great assist and I would rather take that shot. Us being that complement for each other, it just looks lovely on the court. It's a balance. These 30-something points I'm scoring a game I couldn't do without a great point guard."

The impressive start to the season may get Moton, a communications major who graduated last academic year and is now taking grad courses, some professional opportunities. With the connections of assistant coach Jim Lewis, who spent time in the WNBA as a head coach and assistant, she might be able to get invited to a WNBA camp. Moton would be willing to play overseas. She's also ready to enter the corporate world.

As for the current season, it's probably going to get tougher for Moton. She can already tell defenses are being geared to stop her. Once league play gets into full swing, she'll be even more of a marked player. That's fine with her. If opponents are double-teaming her, she figures that means a teammate is open.

"I'm just playing," Moton says. "I don't come into any game and set a goal for myself, especially scoring. If anything, I say 'I'd like to get this amount of assists or rebounds.' I'm just playing. I hear it a lot: 'That was a quiet 30.' I guess that's the best way to score."

In addition to her now complete game, Moton has a mature approach to games. In the past, she admits to sometimes getting hung up during a game on how she was shooting and/or scoring. Now she is more Zen, more in the moment.

"I used to assess numbers. I wasn't playing my best because of that," she says. "When you're relaxed and just play your game and let the game come to you, that's the best way to play. It's so much fun. I'm loving it right now."

Fans watching her love it, too.