WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
RECORDS: Mason (6-7, 0-0 A-10), George Washington (6-7, 0-0 A-10)
SERIES RECORD: GW leads, 24-12
LAST MEETING: Mason defeated George Washington 61-46 on Feb. 6, 2018 in Fairfax, Va.
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FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team opens conference play in front of its home crowd on Saturday against George Washington.

Tip-off between the Patriots and Colonials is scheduled for 2 p.m at EagleBank Arena. Saturday's game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+, with commentary by Steve Kolbe. In addition, Shawn Ouellette will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pre-game coverage beginning at 1:50 p.m.

PATRIOT POINTS
* The Patriots were predicted to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 preseason coaches' poll – their highest preseason prediction since joining the league in 2013-14.

* Junior Camarie Gatling made the game-winning layup with 13 seconds remaining to lift Mason past SMU, 59-58, on New Year's Eve.

* With under three minutes remaining in the game, Mason overcame an eight-point deficit to finish non-conference play with a record of 6-7.

* Junior Nicole Cardaño-Hillary accounted for seven of Mason's nine points in the final two minutes of play.

* Cardaño-Hillary posted a game-high 25 points and team-high eight rebounds and five assists. 

* Sophomore Livija Kaktaite and freshman Jazmyn Doster made their first career start against SMU. Kaktaite played a season-high 20 minutes while Doster added a personal-best 30 minutes of action.

* With eight steals over the last two games, Cardaño-Hillary jumped three spots to now sit seventh in program history in career steals with 181.

* Senior Jacy Bolton became the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 points in their career after scoring eight points at SMU (Dec. 31).

* Gatling was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16-22. She averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 64.0 percent (16-25) from the field. It marked the first time in her career the Richmond, Va., product garnered the weekly accolade.

* Cardaño-Hillary leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring (17.9 ppg). Gatling is second in the A-10 in field goal percentage (.535). Bolton is averaging a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game, and is second on the team, averaging 10.9 points per game.

* Bolton surpassed 600 career rebounds with six boards against Bradley (Nov. 29). She now sits 10th all-time with 641 rebounds. Bolton is 17 boards away from 9th place (658) held by Vernessa Neamo (2000-04).

* Cardaño-Hillary began the season 14th all-time in Mason program history in scoring with 1,218 points. With a career-high 41 points at Penn State (Nov. 24), the junior guard cracked the top-10. Cardaño-Hillary is 11 points shy of a tie with Jen Surlas (1999-01) for 7th place (1,462).

* The Patriots have three players among the top-15 in program history in career all-time three-point field goals made. With 22 three-point FGs this season, senior Sarah Kaminski is locked into third place with 161 total treys. Cardaño-Hillary (133) is 8th and Bolton (115) is 13th.

SERIES HISTORY
George Washington leads the all-time series, 24-12. Mason won the two-game series last season, breaking the Colonials 13-game winning streak against the Patriots.

SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON
GW wrapped up non-conference play at 6-7 after falling to William & Mary 63-51 on Dec. 29 in Washington, D.C. Three Colonials hit double-figures in the contest, Sydney Zambrotta (11), grad transfer Alexandra Maund (10) and rookie Tori Hyduke (10), who has now scored 10+ points in 10 of her first 13 career games.

The Buff & Blue were projected to finish seventh in the preseason Atlantic 10 poll. Neila Luma and Zambrotta were named to the preseason All-Conference second and third teams, respectively.

The Colonials have two players scoring in double figures, led by Hyduke (12.4 ppg). Zambrotta is averaging 10.7 points per game.

UP NEXT
Mason travels to Dayton, Ohio for a 7 p.m. contest against the Flyers on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at UD Arena.