George Mason (0-0) vs. Maryland (0-0)
WHEN: Monday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena; Fairfax, Va.  
2021-22 RECORDS: Patriots (10-19, 3-12 A-10), Terrapins (23-9, 13-4 BIG 10)  
SERIES RECORD: Maryland leads, 6-0  
LAST MEETING: Maryland defeated George Mason, 90-40, on Dec. 8, 2012 in College Park, Md.
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK
 
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team returns to the court on Monday to open the 2022-23 basketball season at home for the first time since 2018. The Patriots will host the Terrapins of University of Maryland, who were ranked at No. 17 in the Preseason AP Poll and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season.
 
The Terrapins are unbeaten against the Patriots, having won all six meetings since 1989. The two teams have not met in almost 10 years, when Mason traveled to College Park on Dec. 8, 2012.
 
Monday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, In addition, Brian McSweeney will call the game on the GoMason Digital Network, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Mason returns six letterwinners and five players who played in at least 20 games in 2021-22.
• The Patriots welcome seven newcomers to the 2022-23 roster. That group includes four transfers: graduate student Riley Childs (Boston University), senior Sonia Smith (Sacred Heart), senior Trey Kennedy (Marist) and senior Nalani Kaysia (Charlotte- volleyball).
• Jada Brown, Nekhu Mitchell and Zahirah Walton enter the season as the freshmen class.
• Junior Taylor Jameson returns as the top point-scorer for the Patriots, averaging 9.8 points per game while posting two 20-point performances. Senior Tamia Lawhorne returns as the best three-point shooter after leading last year's team with 45 made at a .352 clip.
• Last season, Mason posted its' first double-digit win total since 2018-2019 when the team went 16-14.
• The Patriots' 10^th win of the season came in the first round of the A-10 women's basketball tournament, when George Mason became the first No. 14-seed to upset its' opponent in the playoffs. Mason downed No. 11 Saint Louis 65-50.
• Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis returns to Fairfax for her second season looking for another season-opening win. Last year, she became just the third coach in George Mason program history to be victorious in their head coaching debut (Jim Wolfe/Jim Conklin 1974-75; Becky Burch 1976-77).

 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
On Oct. 18, Maryland was ranked No. 17 in the Ap Top 25 Preseason Poll. The Terrapins finished the 2021-22 season 23-9 overall and 13-4 in Big Ten play. Maryland fell in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament to No. 14 Indiana, but received an at-large bid as a No. 4 seed. Maryland's season ended in the program's 14^th Sweet 16 to Stanford, 72-66.
 
The Terrapins return six letter winners from last year's squad, including Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year and All-Freshman honoree Shyanne Sellers. She returns as the top point-scorer for Maryland after averaging 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Sellers also led the team with 56 steals and was third with 83 assists. Maryland also welcomes seven newcomers, including three transfers. Graduate student Elisa Pinzan (USF), senior Abby Meyers (Princeton) and junior Allie Kubek (Towson) will all bring a wealth of playing time, and accolades, to the Terps.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will begin a two-game road trip this week to Pittsburgh, beginning on Thursday, Nov. 11, when George Mason takes on Robert Morris.