George Mason (7-0) vs. RV/24 Maryland (5-3)
WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m.
WHERE: XFINITY Center; College Park, Md.
2022-23 RECORDS: Patriots (16-15, 8-8 Atlantic 10), Terrapins (28-7, 15-3 Big Ten)
SERIES RECORD: Maryland leads, 7-0
LAST MEETING: Maryland defeated Mason, 88-51, on Nov. 7, 2022 in Fairfax, Va.
LIVE VIDEO: B1G Network
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team will once again put its' unblemished record on the line this weekend when it travels to nationally-ranked Maryland on Sunday.
Last season, Maryland downed Mason in Fairfax, 88-51. The Terrapins have won all seven meetings in program history, including all three meetings in College Park. It will be the second-straight year the two teams are meeting after a 10-year hiatus.
The last time out, Mason continued the best start in program history with a dominant 70-38 win on the road at Coppin State to move to 7-0. Similarly, Maryland hosted Niagara in College Park, picking up a 114-44 victory to improve to 5-3.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Sonia Smith leads the Patriots with 13.3 points per game (15th, A-10) and has tallied double-figures in every game this season. She also leads the team with 3.6 assists per game
- Sophomore Nekhu Mitchell leads the team with 6.0 rpg (15th, A-10) and 1.9 steals per game (8th, A-10), anchoring a strong Patriot defense that forces opponents in 20.4 turnovers per game for a turnover margin of 6.43 (30th nationally)
- Freshman Kennedy Harris ranks third on the squad with 10.4 ppg. Leading to those points are a team-best 10 made threes at .435 (14th, A-10) and a team-best 14-15 free throws at .938 (5th, A-10)
- The Patriots lead the Atlantic 10 with 43.7 rebounds per game (37th nationally) and are second with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game (49th nationally)
- Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis has continued to flex her team's depth this season, and the Patriots rank No. 9 in the country in bench points per game at 36.0
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Maryland remains in the national polls this week, sitting at No. 24 in the coaches poll and receiving votes in the AP poll. The Terps sit at 5-3 on the season, with all three losses coming to ranked opponents, including South Carolina and Connecticut. However, Maryland is currently on a three-game win streak with two wins at the Cancun Challenge over Green Bay and Massachusetts and a convincing 114-44 home victory on Wednesday against Niagara.
Preseason All-Big Ten selection Shyanne Sellers leads Maryland's offense with 16.9 points and 5.0 assists per game. She has hit a team-high 42 field goals at a .438 clip and is just about automatic at the free throw line, hitting 43 of 49 attempts on the season. She has also tallied a team-best 16 steals and five blocks and is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
Three other Terps also average double-figure scoring: Jakia Brown-Turner (11.1), Brinae Alexander (10.8) and Bri McDaniel (10.8). Brown-Turner is also the team lead in rebounding with 5.4 boards per contest. Alexander leads the team from beyond the arc with a team-high 23 made threes at 44.2% while matching Sellers for the lead in steals with 16.
UP NEXT
The Patriots will be back in action next Saturday, Dec. 9, at head coach
Vanessa Blair-Lewis' alma mater, Mount St. Mary's. Tip-off with the Mount is set for 1 p.m.
