George Mason (6-4, 1-0 A-10) vs. Liberty (5-2, 0-0 CUSA)
WHEN: Sunday, December 7, at 3 p.m. ET
WHERE: EagleBank Arena; Fairfax, Va.
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK

FAIRFAX, Va. - The George Mason women's basketball team hosts the Liberty Flames on Sunday, December 7 for an in-state clash. The game will be broadcast on the ESPN+ with tip-off set for 3 p.m ET with Steve Kolbe and Debbie Taneyhill on the call. Simon Burts will be on the GoMason Digital Network starting at approximately 2:45 p.m.

George Mason and Liberty have met 13 times before, with the Patriots leading the series 11-2. This will be the first matchup between these two teams since 2008, where the Flames won 69-54. The first meeting between these programs was in 1979, and the Patriots won the first 11 matchups. 

SCOUTING THE FLAMES

Liberty enters the matchup with a 5–2 record, producing 68.6 points per game while allowing 56.9. The Flames shoot .424 from the field and .340 from three across 53 made triples, with 7.6 threes per game. They average 11.3 made free throws on .675 free-throw shooting. Liberty posts 16.1 assists per game, a 0.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, and 20.0 turnovers per contest. Defensively, the Flames collect 7.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while holding opponents to .334 from the field and .246 from three.

On the glass, Liberty records 46.6 rebounds per game with a +14.1 margin, including 16.3 offensive rebounds and 30.3 defensive rebounds per game in national rankings. Leading scorers Avery Mills and Emmy Stout both average 15.9 points, with Mills adding 22 made threes at .373 and Stout shooting .494 from the field. Ify Nwaobi adds 10.6 rebounds per game with 74 total boards, while Claudia Acin contributes 11.0 points through four games. Mills, Stout, and Acin combine for 43 made threes and 53 assists.

In national statistical rankings, Liberty stands 21st in field-goal percentage defense (.334 allowed), 10th in rebound margin (+14.1), 20th in defensive rebounds per game (30.3), 24th in offensive rebounds per game (16.3), and 80th in threes made per game (7.6). Conference-wide, the Flames rank first in field-goal percentage defense, three-point percentage defense, rebounds per game, and threes made per game. Their scoring margin (+11.7), blocks per game (4.0), and assists per game (16.1) also rank in the league's upper tier.

PATRIOT POINTS

• Zahirah Walton scored 42 points vs. Murray St. on Nov 28 and 20 points vs. #13 Ole Miss at the Daytona Beach Classic. She was named MVP of the tournament for her performances.
• 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 host the Princeton Tigers in their final game before the winter holiday on Saturday, December 20 at 1 p.m. at EagleBank Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.