George Mason (8-1) at Georgetown (6-3)
WHEN: Monday, December 9, at 7 p.m.
WHERE: McDonough Arena; Washington, D.C.  
2023-24 RECORDS: Patriots (23-8, 14-4 A-10), George Washington (23-12, 9-9 Big East)  
LIVE VIDEO: Big East Digital Network/FloSports
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The George Mason women's basketball team will make their second journey in the last week across the Potomac to play the Georgetown Hoyas on Monday night.

The Patriots and Hoyas are 8-18 historically, with their last matchup coming in 2016 when they Hoyas were beat the Patriots by 13. This is the first meeting of these programs since their new coaching staffs took over in the last few years.
 
George Mason and Georgetown's history dates back to the 1974-75 season, the Patriot's second season and the Hoya's fourth. The Green & Gold won that first matchup, 67-56.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Sophomore Kennedy Harris and junior Zahirah Walton have led the Patriots is scoring so far this season, averaging 18.3 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively.
• Harris was named A-10 Player of the Week for the week of November 25, 2024 after averaging 25.5 ppg on 51% shooting, 5.5 RPG, 3.5 apg, and 2.0 spg that week
• The Patriots checked in at #45 in the first NET ranking of the 2024-25 season. They then moved to #40 after their win over GW. #40 is the highest NET ranking for the women's basketball program since the NET rankings debuted in 2018

• Two of the Patriots first four wins came against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in the last two years: Monmouth and Marshall.
• George Mason is currently in the "Last Four In" group per ESPN's Bracketology.
• The Patriots have only ever started the season 6-0 twice: last year and this year. In both instances, the team's first loss came to Maryland.
• Mason returns ten letter winners and three starters from last season's squad, including captains Paula Suárez and Nalani Kaysia, last year's A-10 Rookie of the Year Zahirah Walton, and preseason third team selections Ta'Viyanna Habib and Kennedy Harris.
• The Patriots welcome four newcomers, including two transfers, to the roster: Khamya McNeal (Stetson/Syracuse) and Louis Volker (Missouri State).
• The freshman class includes Sarah Oduro and LeAire Nicks.
• Mason returns three of its top five scorers from a season ago: Zahirah Walton (11.3), Ta'Viyanna Habib (10.0), and Kennedy Harris (9.4).
• Kaysia also returns after sitting out last year due to medical reasons.
• Last season, the Patriots posted their first 20+ win season since 2017-18 when the team went 24-10.
• Prior to the start of the 2023-24 season, Mason was chosen to finish third out of 15 teams in the conference, their highest preseason pick since joining the Atlantic 10.

 
SCOUTING THE HOYAS
The Hoyas are 6-3 so far this year, with one of their most recent wins coming off a buzzer-beater against last year's Atlantic 10 Conference winner, Richmond. They also have wins over Colgate, Virginia University of Lynchburg, Temple, Boston University, and Howard.
 
Three players are currently averaging double figures in scoring for the Hoyas, led by last year's Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Big East member Kelsey Ranson, who averages 20.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She leads the team in steals (22) and assists (40). Victoria Rivera is second in scoring, averaging 13.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She is also second in assists with 16. Senior Ariel Jenkins averages 12.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounds, averaging 9.3 per game.
 
Another notable player is freshman guard Khadee Hession, who averages 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. She is third on the team in assists (13). Jayden McBride is averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
 
As a team, Georgetown currently ranks second in the Big East Conference in three-point percentage, shooting 36.3% from the three-point line. They also rank fifth in the conference for three-pointers per game (6.8). The Hoyas are also a good defensive team, grabbing 26.6 defensive rebounds per game, ranking them third in the conference.
 
Georgetown finished last season 23-12 and earned the No. 6 spot in the Big East Conference Tournament after going 9-9 in conference play. They beat No. 3 St. John's in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Creighton in the semifinals before ultimately falling to No. 1 UConn in the championship 42-78.
 
UP NEXT
George Mason finally returns home after their four-game road swing to face the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore on Saturday, December 14, at 3 p.m. TV broadcast is available on ESPN+ and radio is available through the GoMason Digital Network.