Rolling Along: Patriots Cruising to Best Start Since 2001

When George Mason hits the floor tonight at the Patriot Center in a matchup against UMass, they will look to build off a week of success. The Patriots currently sit at 4-1 in their conference, good for third in the CAA. Mason's weekly success includes wins over Longwood, Stony Brook and UNC Asheville. During this strech they have averaged 74 points, 12 assists and just under 38 rebounds. In these games, Mason has been lead by the strong play of senior guard Taleia Moton, who ranks in the top 15 in the nation in ppg. Below is a list of the individual and team accomplishments George Mason has made over the last week:

- Sophomore Christian Weithman hit 5 three pointers against UNC Asheville to tie her career high, and also tied a career point high with 22

- Senior Taleia Moton scored 19 second half points against UNC Asheville to end the game with 30 points. It was the second time this week, she also scored 30 in the game against Longwood.

- George Mason reachd the 80 point plateau twice last week, the first time since the 2006 season

- Senior Taleia Moton was name CAA co-player of the week

- At 4-1 this marks Mason's best start under head coach Jeri Porter


Tune in live tonight to our broadcast of GMU women's basketball starting at 6:30pm. Follow this link to listen in .

Patriots Bring the Bulldogs to the Pound, Win 88-59

If you were looking for a textbook definition of domination, this would be a game to use as an example. The Patriots(4-1) shot an amazing 56.5% from the field, while holding the over match UNC-Asheville Bulldogs(2-3) to 29.4%.  The surprise not only was the margin of victory, but also was the play of junior guard Christine Weithman.

We've talked before about Weithman and how she has the ability to spread defenses out with her 3-point shooting, that is when she gets significant playing time on a very deep Mason bench. Tonight was her time to shine, and she showed us why she could be this year's female equivalent of Ventrail Vaughts on last years Mason Men's basketball team because of the way she came of the bench like a spark plug to shoot 5-7 from the 3-point line and finish with a career high 22 points. This all coming in 26 minutes of court time.

Guard Weithman records career high 22pts vs UNC-Ash

Christine Weithman was the key to winning this game with her 15 points in the first half, which allow Mason to take 42-23 lead at halftime and build upon it come the second half. Even with a low shooting and scoring night from the dynamic starter Amber Easter (3-5, 6 pts), Mason finally got the bench production they were looking for with 5 out of 6 subs recording at least 1 field goal and combining for 35 points.

All of the Colonial Athletic Conference better take note that Taleia Moton continues to go on a scoring tear, scoring 30 points on 14 of 17 shooting and not even connecting on a single 3 pointer.  Moton on the season is now averaging just above 21 ppg with a 50% field goal percentage, and seems focused on not letting any opponent get in her way this season. Forward Forward Jannaa Pickard didn't dominate offensively down low today, but  had a major effect on the Bulldogs attempts with her 4 blocks during the contest.

The Patriot's next opponent is UMass who is currently on a 4 game skid, and has not won since their season opener at home on November 13th. The Patriots will look to improve to a 5-1 record, and improve upon their current 4 game losing streak. It will be important to watch if Mason can continue to get production of the bench, and especially from a proven 3 point shooter like Christine Weithman. If Weithman is able to come off the bench and give quality minuets to force defenses to spread more outside, this should help players like Evelyn Lewis and Jannaa Pickard to become more dominate as the season progresses.

Oh and CAA Player of the Year alert for Taleia Moton? Keep this up and the Patriots could make a strong showing come CAA play.

Thursday night, 7pm vs UMass. Be there!