Mid-Week Wrap-up: Mason Continues its Roller Coaster of a Season

GMU won their first 7 games, then lost 8 of 9, and now have won 3 of 4

Coming into last Sunday's game against Old Dominion University, Mason's roller coaster ride of a season seemed to be on the incline once again, riding a 3 game winning streak. A dominating 24 point win over the Towson Tigers(12-8) in Fairfax lead up to the critical conference match-up with the ODU Monarchs. Mason unfortunately could not finish on the road once again, and their streak of dismal performances on the road would continue.

Down in Norfolk, it was a slug fest between the Patriots and the Monarchs to see if Mason (10-10) would take the season sweep of ODU (7-14). The game was back and forth all night, with the largest lead for both sides only being as high as 8 points.  Mason held a 8 point lead with 7 minutes to go in the regulation, but saw it evaporate and would end up losing by 3 points 68-71.

This defeat is a little riddling seeing as Mason lead in many major statistical category including FG% 46.6 to 36.6, Points in Paint 36 to 20,  Bench points 7 to 3,  and Points off of Turnovers 21 to 11. But when you delve closer in the statistics, you can point out a few major things that lead to this defeat and has plagued the Patriots on the road all season long.

ODU's Tia Lewis dominated down low with 13 rebounds vs GMU

The first glaring negative statistic is the rebounding margin, 32-48 in favor of ODU, in which 17 of the 48 were offensive rebounds for the Monarchs compared to Mason's 5 total. To put Mason's rebounding woes in perspective, ODUs impact forward  Tia Lewis has 13 boards to go along with bench player Shakeva Richards collecting 5 board(3 offensive) in just 16 minutes of play. Combined starting forwards Janaa Pickard and Evelyn Lewis only had 13 rebounds for Mason, together they only equal that of Tia Lewis's total.

The Patriots were out hustled on second chance opportunities by a scoring margin of 1 to 17, a figure that is truly unacceptable and is in direct correlation with ODU's domination of the boards. If you make a stop as a team, you cant continue to give the other team additional opportunities to score. It not only demoralizes you, but it demoralized the defensive effort of your teammates as a whole.

And the third nail in the coffin for the Patriot, as in most of their close losses this season,  was abysmal free-throw shooting. Mason shot 52.9% overall from the line and 6 of 11 (54.5%) in the second half, as compared to ODU who shot 72% for the game and 13 of 14 (92.9%) in the second half. In close games, especially in the dwindling minutes as this one came down to, the win  usually will go to the team to who can convert their free-throws  attempts and ODU sunk them. Even star Taleia Moton was having a off night and went 2 of 5 from the line. Moton came into the game ranked third on the team hitting around 80% from the charity stripe. Mason currently ranks 166th in Division I basketball in FT shooting percentage, hitting just 68.7% on the season.

GMU is ranked 166th in the NCAA in FT%, hitting 68.7%

Not only is the lack of successful free throw attempts disappointing, but it is also the low total amount of attempts that Mason's receives. In the amount of free-throws attempted in the game, Mason shot  9 less, 17 to 26,  and on the season the Patriots are  trailing even worse. The total free-throw attempted on the season for Mason compared to all opponents, 319 to 378, brings a -59  margin. This shows a lack of aggressiveness in taking the ball to the hoop down low, and forcing the other team or referee to give you a call. It is important in the remaining games for Mason that they really try to improve this number and increase the opportunities at "free and easy points" at the free throw line.

Next up for the Patriots is a tough Drexel (10-9) sqaud who has performed exceedingly well in-conference this season, currently tied for 3rd place with a 6-3 CAA record. Mason will have to step its game up on the road, where on the season they have dropped their last 7 of 9  outside of the Patriot Center.

Mason is currently tied for 5th place in the league standings with ODU, but could possible move up to a 4th place tie with VCU with a big win on Thursday against Drexel.

Patriots Clip the Wings of the Lady Monarchs, GMU 85 ODU 69

      For the 3rd time this season, and the first time since 2003, the Patriots surpassed the 80 point margin in route to their victory over the Lady Monarchs of Old Dominion. George Mason grabbed the lead (9-8) after a turnaround jumper from Evelyn Lewis with 16 minutes left in the 1st half and never looked back. The home crowd was treated to a clinic on how to dominate a basketball game, hosted by guards Taleia Moton and Rahneeka Saunders. Moton and Saunders continue to prove that they may be the best two guard combo in the CAA. Saunders was relentless at the point, weaving through triple teams and slipping past the bigs down low. She finished with 17 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds (by the way in case anyone forgot, she is listed at 5'6).

      Taleia Moton was the Jordon to Saunder's Pippen as she had her 3rd straight 30+ point performance, the last time that was done was by Cindy Lundberg back in, oh wait, 1975!; which happened to be Mason's first women's basketball season. Moton's line ended up being 33 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. Forward Janaa Pickard put it best after the game, "Taleia and Rahneeka are definitely up there with the best in the conference, no doubt in my mind." Pickard had an excellent game too, finishing with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

      George Mason was able to find their points in the paint to start. Lewis and Pickard were able to body up the Monarch's post players, Tia Lewis and Shakeva Richards, which opened up the floor for Saunders and Moton to score. Tia Lewis, who had been averaging close to 17 points per game, struggled from the floor in the first half for ODU. She was only 3 for 7 with 6 points and 4 boards. The majority of the points for the Lady Monarchs came from guard Jackie Cook, who put up 13 points in the first and finished with 17. Lewis eventually found her stroke in the 2nd half, finishing with a team high 20 points.

      The "stat to look at" for this game was the free throw production for Mason. Moton and Pickard were able to draw contact down low and cash in. The team made 29 of 36 free throws (80.5%), with Moton converting 12 of 13 and Pickard 7 of 8. The 3 point show also came to the gym today as Mason hit 4 three-pointers, with Moton, Saunders, Pickard, and Amber Easter each having one.

      Mason will head on the road to UMBC on Thursday, Tip-off set for 7 p.m.

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.

CAA Conference Opener: GMU vs. ODU Preview

George Mason will enter the Patriot Center tonight for their first CAA matchup of the season against rival Old Dominion. Old Dominion comes into the game with new but familiar faces, lead by first year head coach Karen Barefoot. Barefoot, the former head coach of Elon University, led her Elon team to their first ever Division I playoff appearance is no stranger to the game of basketball. The 209-143 career record coach Barefoot has compiled, as well as receiving two "National Coach of the Year" awards, shows her commitment and ability to turn around programs..

Offesivley ODU is paced by their standout senior Tia Lewis. Lewis is averaging 16.9 ppg and a sizable 9.3 rebounds. Last year Lewis was both a member of the All-CAA third team and ODU women’s basketball team MVP.

George Mason is riding a 5 game win streak into tonight’s contest, the best start under head coach Jerri Porter. Mason has been on a tear lately, lead by the floor general Taleia Moton. Moton will look to continue her dominance tonight, as she asserts herself as one of the best scorers in the nation, averaging just above 21 ppg.

This will be the 50th meeting between the two teams, Old Dominion has a strangle hold on the series with a 48-1 advantage. The last contest between the two teams was a 68-67 nail bitter, as Jasmine Parker hit a buzzer beater with 1 second left to seal the win for ODU.

Thing to Watch:

- Taleia Moton vs ODU freshman point guards. Moton has dominated every team she faced this year and should have her way against a young ODU backcourt.

- Tia Lewis vs Mason bigs. Tia Lewis fights for every board and loves scoring inside. If Evelyn Lewis and Janaa Pickard get into foul trouble again, it could be a long night.

- Coach Barefoot vs Coach Jerri Porter. Karen Barefoot is no stranger to the ODU program, she was with them from 05-08, where she won three CAA Championships. But Coach Porter has her kids playing inspired basketball. The best part is that all the players on the team are her recruits. What a coaching battle.

Listen in as we sit down with head coach Karen Barefooot to talk about her new coaching gig, the CAA and stopping the 5-1 Patriots