Kristi Mokube pretty much did it all for George Mason in Sunday's 55-41 win against St. Joseph's. The 6-foot-2 senior forward scored with her back to the basket and facing the basket, from the block and from 17 feet and with her right and left hand.
It added up to a career-high tying 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting plus a game-high 13 rebounds along with a nifty no-look pass for one of her two assists plus a block and two steals. In addition, there were times on the bench when Mokube exhorted the crowd to make more noise.
After Mason's first win against St. Joe's since 2003, she and her teammates thanked band director Doc Nix and Green Machine members as well as shook hands with boosters.
"Win or lose we always greet the band and say thank you," Mokube said. "We say, 'We appreciate you' to all the boosters. Not just for show but to genuinely say thank you.
"They come to our games. Showing that appreciation means something to us because we want to maintain that. We want them to keep showing us love. They show us love by coming and we show back by shaking their hand. It doesn't take but two seconds."
There have been times this season and in the past when it seems Mokube could pick up two fouls in two seconds. Her propensity for foul trouble is a reason the Florida State transfer doesn't start.
"We made the decision to bring her off the bench so she doesn't pick up an early foul," Mason coach Nyla Milleson said.
Mokube's double-double was her fourth of the season and eighth of her career.
"She's capable," Milleson said. "Our big thing with her is No. 1, keeping her out of foul trouble. That's first and foremost. Then, No. 2 is consistent play. When she's really focused and locked in and we deliver the ball where she needs it, then she's one of the best posts in the conference. It's just the inconsistency that hurts her."
Mokube, averaging 11.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg, had a hot streak in the second quarter that helped the Patriots (10-14, 5-6), who play tonight at Dayton, gain control of the game. She scored 10 consecutive points for a 29-18 lead.
She was in the zone.
"The more relaxed I am, the more I don't think about things, the more you let the game come to you, the more good stuff happens," she said. "When I used to over-think things, I'd hesitate. Tonight I relaxed. I was aware of my teammates: If I didn't have it, I need to kick it back out."
Her favorite moment of the game came late in the game when she got the ball in the mid-post and fired a no-look bounce pass to Tayler Dodson for a layup and a 53-39 lead.
"That was a really good back-door cut," Mokube said. "When we play together like that, it doesn't matter if I get 22 or if Tay (Brown) gets 22 or Tiffany (Padgett) gets 22 or Kara (Wright) gets 22. If one of us has a good game, it's because we're all playing together. Tay Brown (11 points) had a helluva game today. Maybe not scoring wise, but she was penetrating and dishing it. Kara was penetrating.
"It's a team effort. We all come together and we all make each other better."
In Milleson's third season as coach, the Patriots have already equaled last season's total of five A-10 victories.
"I told them in the locker room that the A-10 is a conference that on any given night you can get your tail whipped or win," Milleson said. "You've got to play well. I think we're starting to understand that, two and a half years into a good conference.
"Process and progress is what I call it. Sometimes it's hard to see and remember where we were when we came here two years ago. We've improved immensely."
FLYERS IMPRESSIVE: Men's coach Dave Paulsen described last week's 98-64 loss to Dayton as getting "hit with a buzzsaw." The now No.19 Flyers (then No. 24 in the AP poll) shot 62.9 percent for the game, including 63.6 percent(14-22) from three-point range.
"That's the best team we've played without a doubt," Paulsen said. "With no disrespect to anyone else in our league cause we've got good teams in our league. They put in a complete performance. They're the best defensive team in the league. That's been the case all year… They played and approached the game the way we hope our program will play like soon."
