George Mason (14-14, 7-8 A-10) vs. Saint Joseph's (18-8, 8-6 A-10)
WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
WHERE: EagleBank Arena; Fairfax, Va.
2021-22 RECORDS: Patriots (10-19, 3-12 A-10), Hawks (13-17, 7-8 A-10)  
SERIES RECORD: Saint Joseph's leads 10-5  
LAST MEETING: Saint Joseph's won, 50-45
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ 
LIVE STATS: LINK 
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network  
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team will host the Saint Joseph's Hawks on Wednesday in the team's regular season finale.
 
The Patriots are coming off a statement win over Fordham, 74-63, in the Bronx and have won three of their last four. Meanwhile, the Hawks fell 58-55 in a heartbreaker to Rhode Island on a buzzer-beating three point shot by the Rams. Despite the loss, SJU has also won three of its' last four. 
 
Wednesday's meeting with be the 16th in the teams' history. Although St. Joe's holds a 5-10 all-time record over Mason, the Patriots have won four of the last six, dropping last year's game in Fairfax in a defensive battle, 50-45.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Seniors Nalani Kaysia and Sonia Smith are both averaging over 12 points per game, 12.4 and 12.2 respectively, in A-10 play this season. 
• Kaysia is also pulling down 10.5 boards/game against conference opponents (1^st, A-10) to remain one of five players averaging a double-double in A-10 action to go along with 1.5 blocks/game (6^th, A-10)
• On Sunday, Paula Suárez posted career-highs in points (15), assists (6), made free throws (5-5), blocks (3) and steals (2) and is averaging 7.3 points, 3.7 assists (12^th, A-10) and 1.3 steals (16^th, A-10) per A-10 game
• George Mason has the fourth-best scoring defense in the A-10, limiting conference opponents to 60.7 points per game
• The Patriots also pull down 14.1 offensive rebounds per game (3^rd, A-10) while limiting their opponents to just 29.4% from three-point range

 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Saint Joseph's tied their best start in program record this season, going 10-1 before dropping their final non-conference game to James Madison in the Hawk Classic. The Hawks began Atlantic 10 play with four-straight wins before dropping the next three by a combined 11 points. SJU has also dropped two A-10 games in overtime, and all six of their league losses are by six points or less.
 
Three players average double-figure scoring for the Hawks, led by 16.3 points/game (7th, A-10) from Talya Brugler. She is also the team's best free throw shooter, knocking down .841 of her attempts (3rd, A-10) and is first on the team in steals (1.1 spg) and second in rebounding (4.9 rpg) and blocks (0.6 bpg).
 
Freshman standout Laura Ziegler leads the Hawks in rebounding with 8.9 boards/game (5th, A-10) and blocks with 1.4 per game (4th, A-10), second on the team in steals with 0.9 per game and is third on the team with 11.7 points per contest (22nd, A-10). Mackenzie Smith is second on the team with 13.8 points/game (9th, A-10) and third with 4.4 rebounds/game.
 
As a team, SJU has the second-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing just 60.4 points per game. The Hawks rank second with a .775 free throw percentage and third with a .429 shooting percentage while dishing out 15.9 assists per game, good for second most in the Atlantic 10.
 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will await the rest of the conference to conclude their regular season play this weekend for the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament seeding. Postseason play begins on March 1 in Wilmington, Del. at CHASE Fieldhouse.