WHEN: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: TD Arena, Charleston, S.C.
RECORDS: Mason (0-0, 0-0 A-10), Charleston (0-0, 0-0 CAA)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 2-1
LAST MEETING: Mason def. Charleston, 66-52, on Dec. 31, 2018 in Fairfax, Va.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team opens the 2019-20 campaign on Wednesday at College of Charleston.
 
Tip-off between the Cougars and Patriots is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on Flo Hoops.
 
PATRIOT POINTS
* The Patriots were selected to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 women's basketball preseason poll - their highest preseason projection since joining the league prior to the 2013-14 season.
 
* Mason captured 16 regular season wins, including eight Atlantic 10 victories in 2018-19. Mason earned the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and hosted a game for the second-consecutive season.
 
* The Green & Gold fielded the A-10 Player of the Year for the second-straight campaign in junior guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary. She led the A-10 and was 21st in the country in scoring (20.4). She ranks fourth in Division I women's basketball returning leading scorers.
 
* Cardaño-Hillary was named to the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list on Oct. 21 – given to the nation's top point guard. She also was tabbed Preseason All-Atlantic 10 First Team.
 
* Senior Jacy Bolton was named Preseason All-Conference Second Team and notched a spot on the Preseason All-Defensive Team. She finished second in the league in rebounds per game (9.1) and first in defensive rebounds per game (7.4) in 2018-19.
 
* The Patriots posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 15 years. The 40 wins over the last two years are also the most in a two-year stretch in program history.
 
* The Patriots return all five starters and nine letterwinners to the 2019-20 team. Mason also returns 95 percent of the team's points, 89 percent of its rebounds and 94 percent of its assists from last year's squad.
 
* Mason will debut five freshmen: Tamia Lawhorne (Amityville, N.Y.), Jordan Wakefield (Abingdon, Md.), Rachel Balzer (Doylestown, Pa.), Jazmyn Doster (Norfolk, Va.) and Vita Stam (Utrecht, Netherlands).
 
* The Patriots have four student-athletes on their roster who were born outside of the United States: Cardaño-Hillary (Madrid, Spain), junior Marika Korpinen (Turku, Finland), sophomore Livija Kaktaite (Sveksna, Lithuania) and freshman Stam (Utrecht, Netherlands).
 
HISTORY VS. CHARLESTON
Mason leads the all-time series, 2-1, and have defeated the Cougars in their last two meetings (Dec. 31, 2018 and Nov. 23, 2014). Last season, the Patriots earned a 66-52 home victory over Charleston on Dec. 31, 2018 in Fairfax, Va. Bolton snagged a career-high 17 rebounds and scored 14 points for her sixth career double-double against the Cougars. Cardan~o-Hillary also added a game-high 19 points to go along with six assists, five rebounds and three steals.
 
A LOOK AT THE COUGARS
Robin Harmony was introduced as the eighth all-time women's basketball head coach at the College of Charleston on April 24, 2019 at TD Arena. The 2018 Southland Conference Coach of the Year, Harmony joins the Cougars after six seasons establishing Lamar University as one of the most successful women's basketball programs in the Southland. Charleston finished 2018-19 with an overall record of 7-23 and CAA record of 3-15 to earn the No. 10 seed in the CAA Tournament. The Cougars' season came to a close in the CAA Championship First Round with a 61-41 loss to the No. 7 seed William & Mary on March 3, 2019. Senior Deja Ford was named CAA Preseason All-Conference Honorable Mention. The Waldorf, Md. native has played a key role throughout her four years with the Cougars. Ford has accumulated 757 points, 255 rebounds, 85 assists and 74 steals while playing a total of 1963 minutes over a three-year span. In 2018, Ford tallied a career high in points with 336 (12.2 ppg) and in rebounds with 131 (4.4 rpg).
 
2018-19 REWIND
The Patriots continued their steady rise within the Atlantic 10 during a successful 2018-19 campaign. Mason captured 16 regular season wins, including eight Atlantic 10 victories. Mason earned the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and hosted a game for the second-consecutive season. The Patriots posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 15 years. The 40 wins over the last two years are also the most in a two-year stretch in program history.
 
Cardaño-Hillary was named the 2019 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, after averaging 20.4 points and 2.2 steals per game – both first in the A-10 last year. Bolton posted a career-best 10 double doubles and finished second in the A-10 in rebounds per game (9.1) and first in defensive rebounds (7.4).
 
UP NEXT
Mason hosts ACC foe Virginia Tech for its home opener at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10 at EagleBank Arena. The Patriots last faced the Hokies in the WNIT Second Round on March 18, 2018 in Blacksburg, Va. Mason's postseason run ended with a 78-69 loss to the Hokies.