George Mason (12-13, 5-7 A-10) vs. Massachusetts (20-4, 10-1 A-10)
WHEN: Sunday, 3 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena; Fairfax, Va.
2021-22 RECORDS: Patriots (10-19, 3-12 A-10), Minutewomen (26-7, 11-4 A-10)
SERIES RECORD: Mason leads, 9-3
LAST MEETING: UMass won, 87-58
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK (PDF)
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team will welcome reigning Atlantic 10 champions Massachusetts to EagleBank Arena for Senior Day on Feb. 12.
Both teams are coming off of home wins this past Wednesday with the Patriots picking up a dominating 65-51 win over St. Bonaventure. UMass used a strong second half in a thrilling come-from-behind victory to edge Fordham, 80-79.
Mason and UMass will meet for the 13th time in program history on Sunday. Despite losing two of the last three match-ups, the Patriots hold a 9-3 record over the Minutewomen. Additionally, three of their 10 meetings as conference opponents have gone into overtime with UMass prevailing in two.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Mason picked up its' fifth A-10 win of the season on Wednesday in front of a season-high crowd of 2,000
- Offensively, three Patriots logged double-digit scoring performances, led by a career-high 15 points from Paula Suarez. Nalani Kaysia (15) and Sonia Smith (14) also posted double-figures.
- Kaysia posted another double-double, adding 10 rebounds to her 15 points, as well as three blocks. Smith's 14 points extend her double-digit scoring streak to seven and the senior has tallied double-digit scoring in all but two league games.
- Mason currently has the fourth-best scoring defense in the A-10, limiting opponents to 61.3 ppg. The Patriots rank fourth in the league with 13.6 offensive rebounds
- Taylor Jameson ranks 19th in the A-10 with 12.4 points/game 17th with 1.2 steals/game. Nalani Kaysia ranks eighth with 1.0 blocks/game and ninth with 8.1 rebounds/game. Paula Suarez ranks 16th with 3.0 assists/game.
SCOUTING THE MINUTEWOMEN
Massachussetts wrapped up non-conference play with a mark of 10-3, and have lost just one A-10 contest to undefeated Rhode Island in the beginning of January. All four of UMass' losses have been by single-digit margins and since its' loss to the Rams on Jan. 4, it has won nine straight.
The Atlantic 10's top offense is powered by Sam Breen, who is averaging 17.5 points (4th, A-10) and 10.0 rebounds (1st, A-10) per game. She joins Mason's
Nalani Kaysia on the short list of five athletes who are averaging a double-double so far in A-10 play. Breen was recently named a 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Semifinalist as the guard also ranks second on the team in steals (1.7/game) and in assists (3.6/game)
Four other Minutewomen are also averaging double-digit scoring performances. Destiney Philoxy averages 10.8 points/game and has dished out a team-high 4.9 assists/game, good for fourth in the conference. Ber'Nyah Mayo is third on the team in scoring with 12.5 points/game and is registering 2.8 steals/game (3rd, A-10). Sydney Taylor is the team's top three-point shooter, knocking down just shy of 40% of her attempts and contributes 16.4 points per game (6th, A-10).
As a team, UMass converts an A-10-best 44.1% of its' attempts, as well as 35.3% of its' shots from beyond the arc (2nd, A-10). The Minutewomen also grab 40.2 rebounds per game (4th, A-10) while leading the conference in turnover margin (+4.08) and assist/turnover ratio (1.21), due in part to their A-10-best 18.04 assists/contest.
UP NEXT
Mason will play its' final two regular season road games this week, beginning with first-year A-10 member Loyola Chicago on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tip-off from Gentile Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT/ 7 p.m. ET.
