Women's Basketball | 11/8/2018 6:02:00 PM

WHO: George Mason vs. Air Force
WHEN: Friday, 2 p.m.
WHERE: Clune Arena, Colorado Springs, Colo.
RECORDS: Mason (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10); Air Force (1-0, 0-0 Mountain West)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: Mason defeated Air Force 69-52 on Dec. 19, 2015 in Fairfax, Va.
LIVE VIDEO: Click Here
LIVE STATS: Click Here
GAME NOTES: Click Here (PDF)
 
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons are coming off a 72-54 victory over Western Colorado in their season opener on Tuesday in Colorado Springs. Sophomore guard Kaelin Immel led the way with 25 points. Immel averaged 15 points in 2017-18 and was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year. They also return Emily Conroe, a sophomore from Fredericksburg, Va., who averaged 11.3 points and 5.0 rebounds last season.

SERIES HISTORY
The teams met for the first time three seasons ago, with the Patriots defeating Air Force 69-52 on Dec. 19, 2015, in a rare game in the RAC on Mason's campus. Senior Jewel Triggs is the only active Mason player who competed in the game, scoring five points during her freshman season.

LAST TIME OUT
The Patriots rolled to a 70-38 victory in their season opener over Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday at EagleBank Arena. It was their largest margin of victory in a season opener since a 104-40 drubbing of Winthrop on Nov. 27, 1993. Sophomore guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, the 2018 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, scored 16 of her game-high 26 points in the first half. Fellow sophomores Marika Korpinen and Camarie Gatling came off the bench and combined for 24 points. Korpinen filled up the stat sheet with a career-high 13 points, three steals, three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Gatling added 11 points in just 13 minutes to go along with two blocks. Mason's bench outscored the Greyhounds 35-9 and the Patriots held Loyola to 20 percent shooting.

PRESEASON PROSPECTUS
The Patriots return nine letterwinners and three starters from a team that a year ago won a school-record 24 games, posted their best finish (fourth) since joining the Atlantic 10, reached the WNIT and won a postseason game for the first time in program history. Mason was picked to finish eighth in the A-10 this season in the preseason coaches poll after losing A-10 Player of the Year Natalie Butler (33 double-doubles) and their top distributor Tayler Dodson (110 assists).
 
Back is 2018 A-10 Rookie of the Year Nicole Cardano-Hillary. The guard ranked third in the league last year with 17.8 points a game. She also led the A-10 in steals (84) and is Mason's top returning distributor (102 assists). The sophomore from Madrid, Spain, was tabbed to the preseason A-10 All-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team. Returning is junior captain Jacy Bolton (9.5 ppg) and junior Sarah Kaminski (6.5 ppg), who combined have made 89 collegiate starts.
 
The Patriots also welcome two freshmen - Livija Kaktaite (Sveksna, Lithuania) and forward Devyn Wilson(Norcross, Ga.). Graduate student Ariana Freeman (Manassas, Va.) is also new to the team after finishing her bachelor's degree at the University of Colorado. But the guard is out for the year after suffering a season-ending injury over the summer. Mason is led by head coach Nyla Milleson, who enters her sixth season at the helm.