Patriots Hit Hardwood for Exhibition Matchup on Thursday

Women's Basketball 11/2/2016 1:56:00 PM

WHAT: George Mason women's basketball vs. Washington Adventist (exhibition)
WHEN: 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 3
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: George Mason (0-0); Washington Adventist (0-1)
LIVE STATS: Click Here

FAIRFAX, Va. – Just three days into November, the George Mason women's basketball team will take the court.

The Patriots hit the hardwood for an exhibition game against NAIA foe Washington Adventist at 7 p.m. on Thursday at EagleBank Arena. It will serve as Mason's lone preseason tuneup before opening the regular season on Nov. 11 at home against Radford.

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.

Washington Adventist is led by third-year head coach Jered Lyons. The Shock went 12-14 in 2015-16, setting a program record for wins. Washington Adventist, a NAIA school located in Takoma Park, Md., has already begun its season, falling to Point Park 67-27 on Monday night. The Shock will play the exhibition contest against Mason on Thursday before returning to regular-season play on Saturday against Oakwood University.

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