Art Pittman/George Mason Univ.

Patriots Face Saint Joseph's on Sunday at 2 p.m. on CBS

Women's Basketball 1/17/2026 12:00:00 PM

George Mason (11-6, 6-0 A-10) at Saint Joseph's (12-5, 3-3 A-10)
WHEN: Sunday, January 18, at 2 p.m. ET
WHERE: Michael J. Hagan Arena; Philadelphia, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO: CBS Sports Network
LIVE STATS: LINK
LIVE AUDIO: GoMason Digital Network
GAME NOTES: LINK

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The George Mason women's basketball team heads to Philly this weekend to face the Saint Joseph's Hawks on Sunday, January 18. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with tip-off set for 2 p.m ET with Ice Young and Jack Gordon on the call. Mackenzie Banks will be on the GoMason Digital Network starting at approximately 1:45 a.m.

This is the 21st matchup between the Patriots and Hawks. Saint Joseph's was on the receiving end of George Mason's historic 2025 A-10 Championship last March, with a 73-58 final score. However, the Hawks lead the overall series, 13-7.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS

Saint Joseph's enters the matchup with a 12–5 overall record and a 3–3 mark in conference play through 17 games. The Hawks average 68.5 points per game while allowing 56.2 points per contest, resulting in a +12.3 scoring margin. As a team, Saint Joseph's shoots 43.1% from the field, 32.7% from three-point range, and 71.1% from the free-throw line, while averaging 22.8 three-point attempts and 7.5 made threes per game.

Offensively, the Hawks average 17.9 assists per game and post a 1.22 assist-to-turnover ratio. They commit 14.7 turnovers per game and force 16.5 turnovers on the defensive end, producing a +1.8 turnover margin. Saint Joseph's averages 12.6 free throws made per game on 17.7 attempts and receives 16.5 points per game from its bench.

On the boards, Saint Joseph's averages 36.5 rebounds per game, including 11.2 offensive and 25.2 defensive rebounds, with a +4.3 rebounding margin. Defensively, the Hawks hold opponents to 38.1% shooting from the field and 32.7% from beyond the arc, while averaging 8.9 steals and 2.9 blocks per game. Individually, Gabby Casey leads the team with 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game,

PATRIOT POINTS

The Patriots are 6-0 in A-10 play for the first time in program history
Zahirah Walton is one of 17 players in the nation averaging 20+ points per game
George Mason is one of 11 schools where both their men's and women's teams are undefeated in conference play
Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis won her 400th career game on January 4, 2026 vs. VCU, 68-58
Walton won A-10 Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 29, 2025 after a 25-point performance vs. Dayton. This is her third player of the week honor this season
Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis is the longest tenured Black female head coach in D1 (27 years)
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 seven 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), Kailani Merrell (Daytona, Fla./Sprunce Creek), 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.