WHAT: George Mason women's basketball vs. Radford
WHEN: 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (0-0); Radford (0-0)
LIVE STATS: Click Here
LIVE VIDEO: Click Here

FAIRFAX, Va. – The countdown is over.

The George Mason women's basketball team will tip off the 2016-17 season when it hosts Radford at 7 p.m. on Friday at EagleBank Arena in the season opener for both teams.

Mason returns eight letterwinners and four starters from a team that went 12-19 overall and 6-10 in Atlantic 10 Conference play last year. The Patriots reached the quarterfinals of the A-10 Women's Basketball Championship for the first time in program history after knocking off Dayton in the opening round.

Head coach Nyla Milleson enters her fourth season at the helm. The Patriots have gradually improved in A-10 play under Milleson's watch. After winning one conference game in its inaugural season in the A-10 in 2013-14, Mason won five games in 2014-15 and six last year. They also won a program-high two A-10 games on the road, including knocking off eventual A-10 co-champ Saint Louis on the road in overtime.

Redshirt senior Kara Wright leads the way as the team's top returning scorer from last year, with 10.7 points a game. She also averaged 2.3 assists, which was second-most on the team. Wright also logged the most minutes of any returning player (33.5 minutes per game) in making 27 starts. Fellow redshirt senior Tiffany Padgett also returns after starting 29 games. The forward averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds.  

Like Wright and Padgett, sophomore Chinyere Bell played in all 31 games last year. Bell provided a steady presence down low as a freshman, averaging 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. She and fellow sophomore Jewel Triggs each started four games last year. Triggs returns as the team's top 3-point threat, making 23, which was second to only Taylor Brown, who graduated ranked second in program history in all-time scoring.

Junior Tayler Dodson, the only player last year to start all 31 games besides Brown, is also back after dishing out 46 assists – third-most on the team. Redshirt Bridget O'Donnell, a 6-foot-6 center, returns after averaging 19 games in 2015-16. Redshirt sophomore Casey Davis returns to the floor after a season-ending injury sidelined her after just eight games.

Making her Mason debut will be redshirt senior Sylvia Maxwell, who sat out last year after transferring from Niagara. The guard averaged 6.2 points as a junior in 2014-15, making 11 starts in 29 games. The Patriots also welcome five freshmen to the mix who hope to make an impact – Jacy Bolton, Alexsis Grate, Sarah Kaminski, Allie McCool and DeJah Williford-Kelley.

Fans got a glimpse of the team in action last week when the Patriots defeated NAIA foe Washington Adventist 97-27 in an exhibition game at EagleBank Arena. Maxwell led all scorers with 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Kaminski and Bolton each scored 12 points and Wright and Padgett added 11 points apiece. Kaminski also dished out seven assists.

Radford went 18-13 in 2015-16, posting a 13-7 mark in the Big South Conference and reaching the semifinals of the Big South Tournament. The Highlanders are paced by junior Janayla White, a preseason Big South All-Conference First Team selection. The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.9 points and 10.0 rebounds in 2015-16 – the only player in the Big South to average a double-double.

The Highlanders also return junior Jayda Worthy (10.3 ppg) and Big South All-Freshman team honoree Lydia Rivers (8.1 rpg). They are coached by Mike McGuire, who is in his fourth season at the helm.

Radford leads the all-time series against Mason 13-3. The teams have met just twice in the last 25 years, though. They renewed the series last year with the Highlanders pulling out a 66-63 overtime victory in the season opener for both teams in Radford, Va.

This is just the second time in the last five years the Patriots have opened the season at home. Mason is 3-0 in home openers under Milleson.