WHEN: Wednesday, Noon
WHERE: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
RECORDS: Mason (0-0, 0-0 A-10), Pitt (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
SERIES RECORD: Pitt leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Pitt defeated Mason 73-68 on Nov. 23, 1991 in Loretto, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO: Click Here
LIVE STATS: Click Here
GAME NOTES: Click Here (PDF)
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason University women's basketball team will open the 2020-21 season on Wednesday, Nov. 25 against Pitt. Tip-off is scheduled for noon inside Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
Wednesday's game will be broadcast nationally on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX). ACCNX is offered exclusively through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Access requires that your pay TV provider (cable, satellite, telco or streaming service) carries the ACC Network.
 
PATRIOT POINTS
*  Mason will face seven out-of-conference opponents in 2020-21. The slate features five home games and trips to Pitt (Nov. 25) and JMU (Dec. 6).
 
* Mason returns nine letter winners and four players who started at least seven games in 2019-20.
 
* The Patriots welcome five newcomers to the 2020-21 roster. That group includes freshman guard Taylor Jameson (Wichita, Kan.), freshman forward Vanessa Laumbach (Woodbridge, Va.) and graduate forward Daijah Jefferson (Hopewell, Va.).
 
* Daijah Jefferson joins the Patriots as a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech. She was nationally ranked No. 56 by ESPN coming out of high school and has faced Pitt twice in her career.
 
* The Patriots lost 60.0 percent of their scoring from a season ago. The 2020-21 roster consists of eight underclassmen: four sophomores and four freshmen. 
 
* Sophomores Jazmyn Doster, Jordan Wakefield and Tamia Lawhorne saw significant playing time in 2019-20. The trio appeared in all but three games for the Green & Gold.
 
* Senior captain Marika Korpinen will lead the Patriots this season. She has appeared in 94 career games, making 46 starts. She started 13 of Mason's final 14 games last season, scoring in double figures seven times during that span.
 
* Senior Camarie Gatling returns as Mason's leading scorer (8.1) and rebounder (5.2). The six-foot forward is shooting over 50.0 percent for her career.
 
* After redshirting her freshman campaign, sharp-shooter Rachel Balzer will be available for the Patriots in 2020-21.
 
* The Patriots were efficient on the offensive glass in 2019-20, ranking first in the A-10 in offensive rebounds per game (14.4). In A-10 games only, the Patriots were first in offensive rebounds per game (13.9) and were +47 in total offensive rebounds (223-176).
 
* Mason is 6-24 all-time against ACC opponents.
 
* Mason defeated Penn State 78-68 last season, marking its first win over a Power Five school since Nov. 14, 2014 when the Patriots knocked off Virginia Tech in their season opener.
 
* Mason is 4-3 in season openers under the helm of Coach Milleson, having won its last two.

SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between the two teams, with Pitt winning the previous matchup, 73-68, on Nov. 23, 1991.
 
SCOUTING PITT
Pitt returns eight of its top nine scorers from a season ago including six players who started at least seven games during the 2019-20 campaign. Dayshanette Harris will look to build on a strong freshman season that saw her lead the Panthers in scoring (12.7 ppg), assists (2.6 apg) and steals (1.8 spg) while earning All-ACC Freshman Team honors.
 
Sophomores Amber Brown (9.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg), Emy Hayford (4.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Rita Igbokwe (4.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) are the other three parts of the highest scoring freshman class in program history from a season ago.
 
Pitt finished the 2019-20 campaign with an overall record of 5-26 and an ACC mark of 1-17. 
 
UP NEXT
Mason returns to EagleBank Arena to host Patriot League foe Navy on Sunday (Nov. 29). Tip-off in Fairfax is scheduled for 2 p.m.