Taleia Moton and Three Other Patriots Take Home Honors at CAA Awards Ceremony

Senior guard Taleia Moton continues to cement her lasting legacy at George Mason University by being selected All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team. This is Moton's first time being selected, but it is also the first time George Mason University has had a player receive that acknowledgement since it was awarded to Jen Derevjanik in 2004.

Taleia Moton is most deserving of the honor of being  on the All-CAA First Team solely based on her stats. At the culmination of the regular season she was averaging 20.7 points per game, ranking her 12th in the nation, with a field goal percentage of 44.9%. But Taleia has done more then just score hoops. She hauls down 4 rebounds a game, leads the team with 66 steals(21 more then 2nd ranked Rahneeka Saunders), and is second on the team in assists with 69 or 2.4 per game.

But the awards that Coach Porter and her staff really should be most proud of is having three players being recognized as Honorable Mentions for the CAA All-Academic Team. Janaa Pickard, Joyous Tharrington, and Cierra Strickland all received this recognition for their work outside and inside of the gym. What makes this more impressive is that these three players are not ones that don't ever see court time or are injured and all they do is study. To even be considered for an All-Academic Team, in most cases, you must play in 50% of your team's games as well as be beyond your first year enrolled at the institution. Sophomore Janaa Pickard is a starting foward who averages 28 minutes a game along with 8 points per contest.  Junior Joyous Tharrington is a emerging player who averages 15 minutes of court time, and contributes 3.8 ppg. Finally sophomore Cierra Strickland averages just over 9 minutes a game and 1.7 ppg. Coach Porter and her coaching staff should be proud to see that while improving their overall record every season, they are not compromising the education of their student-athletes. Also keep in mind that Taleia Moton has already achieved her Bachelor's degree in Communication's and is already pursuing a second degree.

The CAA Awards Banquet was a great showing for Coach Porter and the state of the Mason women's basketball program. Last year the team only had 2 players recieving recognition, and this year it was doubled. The voting is done by coaches, and it shows that coaches are more and more starting to realize the this Mason team  and program is something to be respected.

Just a note, Player of the Year in the conference went to University of Delaware junior Elena Delle Donne. She who won it for the second time and leads the NCAA in scoring with 28.3 ppg. Delle Donne has pushed the Blue Hen's to #7 national ranking and a 27-1 record overall.

#7 Seeded Patriots Look to Improve on the Past, Forge Ahead in the CAA Tournament

George Mason (14-15, 8-10) comes into Friday's 5pm opening round match-up against the #10 seed Northeastern Huskies (8-21, 6-12) looking to avenge last year's performance, a first round knock out as a #8 seed against Georgia State, and move forward to break the Patriot's CAA tournament winless drought.


Mason has not been in the CAA Championship Game since 2006, and hasn't been a top 4 seed since the 2004 season. The Patriots have not won a CAA tournament game in almost 6 years, so you may ask, why is their hope for this season? The answer is Coach Porter and her rejuvenation of the program.

When Coach Jeri Porter left Radford University and took over the George Mason program in 2008, she inherited a struggling team who has just finished the previous season 11th in the 12 team conference. In her first two years at Mason Coach Porter doubled the win totals overall, but the Patriots' were still finishing #11 and #12 in the conference. Then came the breakout 2010-2011 season.  The Patriots won 7 conference games and improved their win total from the previous season by +3 victories which helped them achieve their highest standing in the CAA tournament since 2005, a #8 seed.

Coach Porter and the Patriots have once again improved on last year's record, by being +1 in conference victories and earning a #7 seed in the 2012 CAA tournament.  This Mason squad came into the season only returning 2 starters, Amber Easter and Taleia Moton, but still improved on their previous season's record.  Coach Porter has really helped to tailor this offense to the strengths of its guards and their speed, which has allowed Moton and Easter to pushed their scoring averages up +8 and +2 respectively from last season. This has lead to Moton being the #12 ranked scorer in the nation, and giving her the ability to take over a game for the Patriots during crunch time.

This Patriot team is  unique from the past in that they have a a variety of ways they can beat an opponent. Their is no doubt Mason has lost games they should have  won, especially in conference, but in losses against top teams they have shown their true abilities. Mason has a variety of ways they can score on an opponent, either pressing the ball or playing half court. Rahneeka Saunders is one of the most underrated ball handlers in the CAA who quickly and unselfishly gives the ball up to the person with the best opportunity to score. Senior star Taleia Moton has the unique skills at being 5'6 to either blow by you with her speed on the dribble, or to step back and drain a jumper.  Then you have the wild card player, forward Janaa Pickard, who came into this year having missed all last season with an injury. The 6'1 sophomore forward is averaging 8.6 ppg as a starter, but her unique ability comes from shooting from mid-range and long distance. On the season she is hitting 39% from the 3-point line, and has show the ability to battle down low or take a defender outside for a 15-foot jumper.

Finally Coach Porter has a complied group of role and bench players capable of giving quality production during tough tournament games. Guard Christine Weithman at times this season has shown the ability to be a real threat off the bench, averaging 4 ppg and hitting 38.5% from beyond the 3-point arc. Weithman is a streak shooter, but something that makes this Mason team unique and dangerous if she gets hot.   With the added contribution of guard Joyous Tharrington and forward Cierra Strickland, and you have a very deep and skilled bench for the Patriots to use in the CAA tournament.

If you add all the above factors with a Mason defense that is only allowing oppnents to shoot 37.8%, which ranks them 3rd in the conference and the highest they've placed in that category since before 2004, then you have a Patriot squad capable of breaking the tournament wins drought.

The Silencing of the Rams: Mason Gets Sweep of VCU, Looks Forward to Senior Night Against JMU

The Patriots (14-14, 8-9) traveled to the Verizon Wireless Arena in Richmond just one day after the Mason men's basketball team was defeated on national television by the VCU men's basketball team. The women came into the game seeking to settle the score between the in-state rivals, as well as improve their overall record back to an even .500. The Patriots did this in convincing fashion by securing the lead with 11:13 left in the first half and never giving it up until they had sealed the victory 69-59.

Lewis had a solid night w/ 8 and 10

As stated in our preview for this match-up, in order for the Patriot's to secure a victory they would have to limit the threat of VCU's all-star forward Courtney Hurt. And while Mason did not by any means take her out of the game or shut her down, the defensive presence by Evelyn Lewis and Janaa Pickard held Hurt to below her averages in both scoring and rebounding. Courtney Hurt came in shooting 45.9% from the field, and the Mason defense was able to limit her to only hitting 8 of 19 from the field (42%).

The second thing we  stated Mason needed to focus on was limiting the effectiveness of the role players on VCU, thus putting more pressure on Courtney Hurt to force shots and put the team on her back. Mason did this to a certain extent, allowing only one VCU player not having the name "Hurt" on the back their jersey to score in double-digits. Andrea Barbour of VCU had 18 points on 50%  shooting from the field, but the other three Ram starters only combined for 6 of 19 (31.5%)  from the field and 14 total points. Mason effectively played team defense for the full 40 minutes, forcing the Rams into 17 turnovers with tough on-ball pressure coming from Rahneeka Saunders and Taleia Moton who both had 3 steals apiece.

Strickland had 8 points in 18 mins

Overall Mason was able to get their second win against VCU this season because of a strong TEAM game. Taleia Moton and Amber Easter combined for 35 points on 13 of 26 (50%) shooting from the field. Evelyn Lewis had a very solid offense night to go along with her great defensive performance, scoring 8 points (4 of 7) and hauling in 8 rebounds. And to top it all off, the most surprising figure of the night had to be in the column of Sophomore guard Cierra Strickland. Strickland, who came into the game only averaging 1.7 points in extremely limited action, scored 8 points in just 18 minutes of court time. Solid bench production like this is what separates an average Mason team, from being a a good or great basketball team.

Mason looks to continue their success as they conclude the regular season at home in the Patriot Center celebrating Senior Night. The Patriot will be playing an incredibly crucial game for the final CAA standings against JMU. A win could give the Patriots a #6 seed in the CAA tournament which would give them the advantage of playing the latest game of the first round, thus the most time to prepare for the opening round match-up. A win over JMU and achieving a #6 seed would match the Patriots up with the #11 seed, who based on Wednesday night's results, will most likely be Georgia State whom Mason just defeated in overtime a few weeks ago. From that point on a win would move them into a match-up with the #3 seed, whom based on Wednesday's results could be either Drexel or Hofstra. Mason has played both teams only once, and has beaten Drexel in Philly (56-51) while losing to Hofstra (70-82) in Fairfax.

A win over JMU will not be easy, as the Patriot have already fallen to the Dukes on the road 45-49 in a nail-biter. A victory tomorrow over a top 4 CAA opponent is important not only for team confidence, but it can potentially give the Patriot's an easier road to the conference championship game.

Looking for another reason you may or may not want to win tomorrow?  If Mason were to lose tomorrow, get the #7 seed and still advance past the first round of the CAA tournament, they would face the #2 seed JMU Dukes guaranteed in the second round. Playing the same team twice in a matter of a 10 days can be a good or bad thing, but playing a good team like the Dukes to advance in a one-and-done tournament would most likely be a road the Patriots want to avoid.

Once Again the Patriot face-off Wednesday night at 7pm in the Patriot Center. You can tune into WGMU Radio for live coverage of the game.

Keys To The Game: ODU vs GMU

1) Dominate Guard Play: There is still uncertainty about the return of second leading scorer Amber Easter for Mason, so it will be important that either Taleia Moton continues to play at an All-American level(23.3ppg) or that players like Rahneeka Saunders and Christine Weithman step their game up and improve their scoring firgures to atleast double figures. If the Mason guards don't help out, I believe ODU's freshman stud Ashley Betz-White(10.3ppg) will have a big game in taking the ball inside-out with the forward Tia Lewis.


2) Inconsistent Forward Play: This will be a game when the paint is where the game will ultimately be won. The last game at UMass showed obvious weakness for Mason when at times the Minutewomen were simply passing to the block and throwing shots off the glass. It will be crucial that Mason's forwards Evelyn Lewis and Jannaa Pickard not only apply stingy defense for a full 40 minutes, but that they also exploit the opportunities they get to score. Many times against UMass the forwards missed chip shots from only a few feet around the basket. If Mason wants to put the pressure on ODU's star forward Tia Lewis, then Mason's own forwards need to be a scoring threat and try to get Lewis into situations where shes having to carry her squad on both sides of the ball.


3) The Bench Must Score: In the last game against UMass, Mason only got 5 points of production from its bench in a game that went down to the wire. ODU is a team that has only lost to Mason 1 time in 49 match-ups  the last game being a nail bite loss 67-68.  In the 4 point win over Stony Brook a few weeks ago, the bench only produced 1 point. And the only loss Mason has suffered this year, a 55-51 defeat against American at home. Taleia Moton and Amber Easter had 19 and 20 points respectively, but the bench only had a single 3 pointer all night. If the bench players like Joyous Tharrington and Cierra Strickland don't turn their minutes into scoring production, this game will no doubt be a tough one to win or secure until the final minutes.