Women's Basketball | 11/9/2017 3:13:00 PM

WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Mich.
RECORDS: Mason (0-0); No. 24/23 Michigan (0-0)
SERIES RECORD: First meeting
LIVE VIDEO: Click Here
LIVE STATS: Click here
GAME NOTES: Click here (PDF)

FAIRFAX, Va. – The 2017-18 season begins on Friday with a challenge out of the gate for the George Mason women's basketball team.

The Patriots hit the road to play No. 24/23 Michigan in the first round of the prestigious Preseason WNIT. The teams tip off against each other for the first time on the hardwood at 7 p.m. at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

This is Mason's third appearance in the Preseason WNIT but first since 2001. The Patriots are 0-2 all-time in the tournament. If the Patriots defeat Michigan, they'll play the winner of the Liberty/Old Dominion matchup on Sunday. If they lose, they'll fall into the consolation bracket and play two games next Friday and Saturday.

SEASON PROSPECTUS
The Patriots return 10 letterwinners and three starters for the 2017-18 season. Mason was picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches poll for its highest projected finish since joining the conference four years ago. They add graduate transfer Natalie Butler and four freshmen – Nicole Cardano-Hillary, Danielle Deoul, Camarie Gatling and Marika Korpinen. Sophomore Jacy Bolton comes in as the team's top returning scorer and rebounder (8.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg). Senior Tayler Dodson is back as the team's top returning distributor after dishing out 58 assists last year. Butler, an Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Third Team, hopes to make an impact in the post. The 6-foot-5 center from nearby Fairfax Station, Va., spent the last two seasons at Connecticut, helping the Huskies win the 2016 national championship. She was also the 2013-14 Big East Freshman of the Year at Georgetown. Mason also returns starting guard sophomore Sarah Kaminski (5.7 ppg, 37 assists) and redshirt junior Casey Davis, who started 16 games.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Wolverines are coming off one of their best seasons in program history. Michigan won a school-record 28 games, captured the postseason WNIT championship by defeating Georgia Tech in triple overtime in the title game and finished third in the Big Ten. The Wolverines entered the season ranked 24th in the Associated Press preaseason poll and 23rd in the USA Today coaches poll. They are led by a pair of Preseason All-Big Ten selections in senior guard Katelynn Flaherty and junior Hallie Thome. Flaherty, a two-time WBCA All-America honorable mention selection, averaged 20.2 points last year and is the fastest player in Michigan history to reach 2,000 points. Thome, a 6-foot-5 center, averaged 16.2 points and 7.1 rebounds and led the team with 74 blocked shots last year.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This is the first meeting in the series. Mason is 0-9 against current members of the Big Ten Conference. Mason's most recent matchup against a Big Ten member at the time of the contest was against Penn State on Dec. 6, 2005. The Patriots did play then-No. 9 Maryland more recently on Dec. 8, 2012, but the Terrapins were still members of the ACC.
 
2016-17 REWIND
The Patriots won 13 games for the second time in three years, compiling a 13-17 record last winter. They finished 10th in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-10 mark and fell in the first round of the conference tournament to Duquesne, which reached the A-10 title game and made the WNIT. A-10 All-Conference Third Team selection Kara Wright led the team with 15 points a game, 6.2 rebounds a contest and 90 assists in her senior season. Fellow senior Tiffany Padgett averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds. Freshman Jacy Bolton was named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team after averaging 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds.
 
BOLT-ON OF LIGHTNING
Sophomore Jacy Bolton returns after a stellar freshman season in which she was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie Team. A 6-foot guard/forward from Drexel, Mo., Bolton averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds while also leading the team with 41 steals while also leading the team in free-throw shooting (.831). Her 250 points were the most in a season by a Mason freshman since current director of operations Amber Easter scored 334 in 2009-10.
 
THE BUTLER DID IT
The Patriots made a splash in the offseason with the addition of Connecticut graduate transfer Natalie Butler. A native of nearby Fairfax Station, Va., the 6-foot-5 center is enrolled in graduate school at Mason to pursue a master's degree in global affairs and is eligible to play immediately. She played in 62 games at UConn over the last two seasons, averaging 5.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 15.9 minutes a game, while helping the Huskies to two Final Fours and the 2016 national championship.  Prior to UConn, she spent the 2013-14 season at Georgetown, where she was named the Big East Freshman of the Year. She averaged 13.9 points and 13.3 rebounds, ranking fifth in the country in rebounding. Her father, Vernon, is the second all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Navy and helped lead the Midshipmen reach the Elite Eight in 1986. Her brother, James, currently plays at Drexel.
 
READY TO PLAY
After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, Taylor Byrne and Camden Musgrave are ready to make their Mason debuts. Byrne, a 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore from Massapequa, N.Y., played at Seton Hall in 2015-16. She averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.4 minutes a game, helping the Pirates reach the NCAA Tournament. Musgrave, a 5-foot-7 shooting guard from Bowie, Md., transferred from Central Connecticut State. She averaged 10 points and made 109 3-pointers in two years with the Blue Devils. She earned All-Northeast Conference Third Team and All-Rookie Team honors in 2015-16 and 2014-15, respectively.