George Mason (5-3) vs. Ole Miss (6-0)
WHEN: Saturday, November 29, at 4 p.m. ET
WHERE: Ocean Center; Daytona Beach, Fla.
LIVE VIDEO: BallerTV
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The George Mason women's basketball team will wrap up the Daytona Beach Classic vs. #13 Ole Miss on Saturday, November 29. The game will be broadcast on the BallerTV with tip-off set for 4 p.m ET. Mackenzie Banks will be on the GoMason Digital Network starting at approximately 3.45 p.m.
The Patriots and Rebels have faced off once before, in 2020, when Ole Miss came to Fairfax and beat the Green & Gold, 64-34. This game came prior to Coach Blair-Lewis' takeover of the Patriots.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
Ole Miss enters the season 6-0 with strong early production on both ends of the floor. Through six games, the Rebels are averaging 84.2 points per game while shooting .449 from the field and .309 from three. The team is making 16.8 free throws per game at a .711 clip. Ole Miss posts 17.0 assists per outing with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.3. The Rebels have scored consistently across all four quarters, highlighted by 140 third-quarter points so far. Their overall scoring margin sits at +33.3.
On the glass, Ole Miss holds a 43.7–30.7 rebounding advantage per game, totaling 262 boards with 98 coming on the offensive end. The Rebels average 11.0 steals and 4.3 blocks per contest, forcing 23.7 opponent turnovers while committing 13.5 themselves. Defensively, opponents are shooting .374 from the field and .257 from three, scoring 50.8 points per game. Ole Miss has allowed 305 total points across its six matchups.
Individually, Cotie McMahon leads the team with 18.3 points per game on .553 shooting, including 9 made threes. Christeen Iwuala adds 16.8 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game on .609 shooting. Sira Thienou (9.0 PPG), Debreasha Powe (8.0 PPG), and Kaitlin Peterson (6.8 PPG, team-high 20 assists) also provide notable production. Latasha Lattimore contributes 6.5 points per game and a team-leading 7 blocks, while the Rebels' bench adds 29.6 points per game per national ranking. Overall, Ole Miss has outscored opponents 505–305 and has recorded wins over Norfolk State, Alabama A&M, Southern, Memphis, Longwood, and Wisconsin.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Zahirah Walton score 42 points vs. Murray St. on Nov 28. The last time a Patriots scored over 40 points was Nicole Cardaño-Hillary on Nov. 24, 2019.
- The Patriots won the Atlantic 10 championship for the first time in program history in 2024-25, giving them their first NCAA Tournament berth
- Three Patriots were named to the 2025-26 A-10 Preseason teams: Zahirah Walton and Kennedy Harris were named to the Preseason First Team and Hawa Komara was named to the Preseason Second Team. Walton and Komara were also named to the Preseason All-Defensive Team.
- The Patriots were picked to finish second in the A-10 Preseason Poll
- Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis was named to the Kathy Delaney-Smith Coach of the Year Watch List for the third year in a row
- Zahirah Walton and Kennedy Harris were named to the Becky Hammon Player of the Year Watch List for the 2025-26 season
- Redshirt juniors Page Greenburg and Zahirah Walton and junior Kennedy Harris were named team captains for the 2025-26 season
- Two transfer graduate students joined the Patriots this season: MJ Johnson (Texas A&M/Ball St.) and Hawa Komara (Rhode Island)
- There are six freshman making their collegiate debuts with the Green & Gold this season: Sanyiah Littlejohn (Philadephia, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), Kayla Johnson (Upper Marlboro, Md./Elizabeth Seton), Mary Amoateng (Baltimore, Md./Bishop McNamara), Matilde Motta (Saronno, Italy/S.M. Legnani), Leah Keyes (Stafford, Va./Virginia Academy), and Sara Blair (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas).
- The George Mason coaching staff added a few new pieces and promoted two key staff members this off season. Demetria Frank was promoted to Associate Head Coach and Nigel Bowden was promoted to Director of Basketball Operations. Lauren Stack and Kate McCarney joined as graduate assistants, and Brandon Stewart was appointed Director of Player Personnel.
UP NEXT
The Patriots return home to open conference play vs. Fordham on Wednesday, December 3 at 7 p.m. at EagleBank Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
