Mason Fights Off the Colonials, Win 58-55

     There is something special about this year's Patriots squad. There are not many teams that can have 22 turnovers, blow a 16 point lead, have 2 bench points, and still manage to squeak out a victory. But this is not your usual team, this is a 7-3 inspired Patriots who refuse to lose. As Janaa Pickard put it after the game, "We expect to do well, working hard fuels that, this is exactly where we want to be at this point in the season."
      The first half featured poor shooting from both teams, with Mason shooting 32% and scoring 31, while George Washington shot 24% and had 21 points of their own. The Patriots, despite having the lead, struggled with their turnover margins throughout the entire first half. It was their stars who rose up once again and kept their lead intact, as Moton and Easter (along with 8 straight points from Saunders to end the half), combined for 31 points in the game. Moton and Saunders shot well from outside, combining to go 5 for 12 from outside the arc.
      GW was led by their star Guard Chakecia Miller, who did it all for the Colonials, scoring 20 points and sniping 10 steals. Miller and fellow guard Danni Jackson were able to run the break on the Patriots and score easily in the second half during their 18-6 run to cut the lead to 1. This was the second game in a row that a team was able to get out in the open court and run the fast break against George Mason, who will need to target that aspect of their game to improve on in the future.
      Mason was able to stave off the comeback in the waning moments, as Moton was able to hit a free throw to give the Patriots a 3 points lead, immediately after Colonials player Miller missed a wide open break away layup that would have tied the game. As the final desperation 3 pointer clanged off the rim, Mason came away with a very satisfying victory.
      Mason was able to get back on track after their 2 game losing streak. They will travel on the road for their next 3 games. They will play at Ohio on December 29th, tipoff is set for 7 pm. The Patriots will return home on January 8th when they take on CAA powerhouse Deleware, tipoff is set for 2 pm.

Keith's Keys to the Game: Mason vs. GW

Coming into what is being called the "Battle of the Orange Line", because of the general proximity of the two schools, both teams are in the midst of two game losing streaks. Both have played a familiar opponent in ODU,  by which it took the George Washington Colonials overtime to defeat the Monarchs by 6,  and Mason was able to take care of them in regulation by a 16 victory. GW finds themselves at .500 with a 5-5 record, and Mason is currently at 6-3 but trying to rebound off a blowout loss against #5 Maryland.

Keys to the Game:

1) DEFENSE: Both GW and Mason average 61 and 63 points per game respectively, so scoring should not be an issue for either squad. In all 3 of Mason's losses this season, there had been a complete breakdown of interior defense that has lead to easy baskets in the paint for their opponents. Mason has also had an issue in guarding the perimeter at times, and will have to be sure to defend the 3-point arc where GW averages 4.5 outside knockdowns per game. GW also comes into the game averaging 10 or more steals per game, where as Mason only gets close to around 6. It will be important for Mason to keep possession, and not be sloppy with the basketball and give the Colonials easy baskets. Look for Taleia Moton and Rahneeka Saunders to do more of the ball handling, and try to limit the amount of turnovers.

2) INTERIOR PLAY: Mason has struggled through out the entire season to get any scoring from their starting forwards Evelyn Lewis and Janaa Pickard. But Pickard has in the last few games started to get in a rhythm, and is averaging just around 9 ppg. Evelyn Lewis on the other hand has somewhat digressed in her starting role, only offering up just over 3 points per game in close to 25 minutes of court time. This has put a lot of pressure on the guards, especially on Taleia Moton, to burden a majority of the scoring load. This load has certainly slowed down Moton, who recently seems to be forcing shots, and no doubt has had a negative affect on her recent performance.  Her scoring averages, 9 points against UMBC( 1 of 9) and 16 points ( 6 of 17) against UMD, plainly show that if she struggles so does Mason. Mason needs to have a good offensive output by both Lewis and Pickard to force the GW defense to respect the interior shot, and open up the outside play to players like Amber Easter and Saunders to drive or shot.

3) REBOUNDS: Even though Mason is only being out rebounded on the stat sheet by an average of 1 total rebound per game by GW, this has been a ongoing problem that has helped lead to the recent negative results. On no team should a 5'6 guard, in Mason's case the hard working Rahneeka Saunders, be out-rebounding the 6'3, 6'1, and 6'0 starting forwards on the team. Saunders averages just around 6 rebounds a game. In watching the most recent Maryland game, Mason was dominated 33- 59 on the boards, and where the Terps on several occasions were able to get not one but sometimes 3 consecutive shots up before it finally rolled in with no Patriot snagging a rebound.  And in the the loss the UMBC where Mason was out rebounded by 3, the game was a 4 point contest up until the final two minutes. And then under 2 minutes, UMBC would miss a shot but put back a offensive rebound and to go up 6, and Mason would never get close again. This show how important it is for the forwards, especially  6'3 Evelyn Lewis, to use her size and snag more offensive boards for easy put backs. Rebounds will be a extremely key stat for this game.

Tip for the "Battle of the Orange Line" is at 3 p.m. against GW. Tune in to WgmuRadio.com for online listen, or join us at home at the Patriot Center for all the action.