George Mason (23-7) vs. Penn State (19-12)
WHEN: Thursday, 6 p.m.
WHERE: Bryce Jordan Center; University Park, Pa.
SERIES RECORD: Penn State leads, 2-1
LAST MEETING: Mason defeated Penn State, 78-68, in University Park, Pa. on Nov. 24, 2019
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK
TICKETS: LINK
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team will head to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament, the 32-team postseason tournament owned by the NCAA.
Penn State earned one of four No. 1 seeds and will play host to the Patriots, who are making their fourth overall postseason in program history, and first since they earned a bid into the WNIT in 2018.
George Mason and Penn State have only met three times in program history, with the Nittany Lions holding a narrow 2-1 edge over the Patriots. PSU won the first two meetings in 2004 and 2005, but Mason got a comeback victory over Penn State just four seasons ago. On the road in University Park, the Patriots downed Penn State, 78-68, on Nov. 24, 2019.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Sonia Smith was named the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player and to the All-Conference First Team. Zahirah Walton was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, to the All-Conference Third Team and the All-Rookie Team. Kennedy Harris was tabbed to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
- On offense, Smith leads the team with 15.3 points per game, while Walton is second with 10.9 points. Smith (3.0) and Paula Suarez (3.1) pace the offense in assists.
- Walton leads the defense with 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and is second with 40 steals
- In the national rankings, the Patriots average 14.6 offensive boards per game (22nd), a 5.60 turnover margin (12th), a 12.9-point scoring margin (35th), 37.7 field goal percentage defense (45th) and allowing just 57.9 points per game (43rd)
- Mason boasts one of the top benches in the country, at fifth nationally with 29.8 bench points per game. Walton leads the way with a team-second-best 10.9 points per game
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State finished the regular season at 18-11 and earned the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament after going 9-9 in conference play. The Nittany Lions advanced to the Quarterfinals for the first time since 2014 after defeating Wisconsin, 80-56, in the Second round. The Nittany Lions ultimately fell in the Quarterfinals to eventual Big Ten Champion Iowa, 95-62.
Five players average double-figure scoring for the Nittany Lions, led by second team All-Big Ten pick Ashley Owusu, who averages a team-high 17.7 points and 3.9 assists per game and is second with 5.9 rebounds per game. Marisa Makenna (13.3), Shay Ciezki (12.3), Tay Valladay (11.5) and Leilani Kapinus (11.4) round out the double-figure scoring.
Kapinus also leads the Nittany Lions with 6.4 rebounds per game and 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks on the season, good for third and fifth in the Big Ten, respectively. Ciezki leads Penn State in free throw shooting and three-point shooting. She hits 89.9% of her free throws (44-49) and has tallied a team-high 71 three-pointers, ranking sixth in the Big Ten with a .380 clip from beyond the arc.
As a team, Penn State boasts the seventh-best scoring offense in the country, averaging 83.6 points per game. The Nittany Lions hit 49.0% of their field goal attempts and 37.5% of their three-point attempts, good for sixth and ninth among the NCAA.
UP NEXT
With a win in the opening round of the WBIT, Mason would advance to play the winner of Belmont/Ball State on Sunday, March, 24 with a time and location to be determined.
