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.

Mason Gets Pecked by the Blue Hens 53-71, Look to Herd the Rams of VCU

The #8 Delaware Blue Hen's (25-1) were not only one of the hottest teams coming into the match-up against George Mason (13-14) on Thursday, but were one of the hottest teams in the entire nation. Delaware made sure that Mason would not be the team to derail them from their current 15 game winning streak, beating the Patriots 71-53 in Newark. Currently the Blue Hen's are defeating their opponents by an average of 16.2 ppg through the last 5 contests.

Donne Leads NCAA in Scoring

This second meeting between the Blue Hen's and the Patriots was reminiscent of the first match-up, in that no one could stop Delaware's dynamic scorer Elena Delle Donne. Delaware's Della Donne, the multi-sport ex-Connecticut Huskie recruit, reached her NCAA leading scoring average when she dropped 28 points along with 11 rebounds on the Patriots Thursday night. Taleia Moton did her best to keep the Patriots on pace with the offensive output of Delaware, as she contributed 18 points in the game, but only shot 35% from the field on the night.

The rest of the four Mason starters went 9 of 33 from the field for a dismal 27.7% shooting percentage for the game. Coming into the game Mason knew that Delle Donne was going to get her points, but it would be important to make her work for them and to neutralize her teammate's contributions. Unfortunately the Patriots weren't able to do this, allowing Delaware to shoot 49% for the game, with Danielle Parker compiling a double-double(14 pts, 12 rbs) and Lauren Carra scoring 11 points along with 7 rebounds.

For games that Mason have won this season, the production of Janaa Pickard and Amber Easter have been key to accompanying Taleia Moton's steady performances over the season. Since the game that the Patriots played the Hofstra Pride on February 12th, in which Pickard had 17 and 10 while Easter had 19 and 11, neither of these players have had a double-digit scoring output since. Against Delaware, the duo of Pickard and Easter combined only for 13 points on 5 of 21 shooting from the field. This recipe of poor shooting from the starters, and the lack of defense overall, is what ultimately lead to the blow-out victory for Delaware.

Tharrington had 10 pts vs UD

The bright spot of the night was the performance of the Patriot's transfer-junior forward Joyous Tharrington, who had one of her best performances of the season. All year long in limited time she has shown the skill to score, but has never been given a full-time opportunity. On Thursday though, Tharrington played 26 minutes while scoring 10 points on 5 of 9 shooting and hauling in 6 rebounds. It was encouraging to see her get meaningful minutes in a important game, while shooting the ball efficiently. This is something that Coach Porter can build upon going into the CAA tournament and onto next season, knowing that Tharrington in able and ready to step her game up to playing big time minute productively.

 Hurt ranks 1st in Rebounds in NCAA

Up next for the Patriots is their final road game of the season at rival VCU.  The Patriots again must go up against not only one of the best players in the CAA, but one of the best in the entire NCAA. VCU's forward Courtney Hurt is currently ranked 9th in scoring (21.9 ppg) and 1st in rebounding (13.1 rpg)  in the NCAA.

In Mason's first match-up at home this season against the Rams, Evelyn Lewis and the rest of the forwards were able to effectivly contain Courtney Hurt to only 5 total rebounds and only 17 points (7 of 17) in 39 minutes of court time. In the similar case of Delle Donne, Courtney Hurt is going to score her points. But Mason in the first match-up, clearly made it difficult for her to score limiting her to only 41% shooting and close to a season low in rebounds. This led to a Mason win against the Rams by 13 points.

But this was almost 5 weeks ago and this time the Patriots are on the road where they have only won 3 games all season. The Patriots will need to apply the same principles they did the first time around with tough pressure form Evelyn Lewis down low and a balanced scoring attack of Pickard, Easter, and Moton.

Tip-off is set for 2pm today, Sunday the 26th in Richmond.

Moton set the single season scoring record vs UD

We also want to recognize that Taleia Moton broke the single-season scoring record during Thursday game against Delaware. The previous scoring mark for George Mason women's basketball was 549 points set by Keri Chaconas in the 95-96' season. With Moton's 18 points against Delaware, she has now set the new single-season mark at 565 and will look to add to it Sunday against VCU. Taleia is currently the nation's 12th ranked scorer with 21 ppg. Congrats Taleia!

Keith's Keys to the Game: GMU vs. Hofstra

Mason faces one of their last big games of the season, as they host Hofstra (16-7, 8-4) at home in the Patriot Center. Hofstra is currently tied for 3rd place in the CAA standings, and only 1 game behind of 2nd place James Madison. George Mason (12-11, 6-6) is currently in 5th place within the CAA, but with a win could move up to a tie for 4th. It is key for the Patriots to finish strong the last few weeks of the season because the top 4 teams in conference get a bye in the in the Quarterfinal round of the CAA tournament, as the bracket shows on the conference website. Mason will look to pounce on the Hofstra Pride, as they come in losing their last two games including a 16 point blow-out at VCU.


What to Watch For:


1) Shante Evans, Jr-Forward, Hofstra:

Shante Evans is #32 in Nation in scoring

Shante Evans has been an absolute beast outside of conference, but most importantly, even better in conference. Evans comes in averaging 18.2 points per game on the season, ranking her #32 in the nation in scoring.  Within conference games alone, she is averaging more then 19 ppg. As a junior forward, she ranks 4th in the CAA in points per game, as well as 3rd in rebounding  with 10.1 per game. Evans doesn't just shoot the ball alot, but she does it efficiently. Evans ranks 7th in the CAA shooting 49.7 % from the field, mostly down low on the blocks. Around the conference most forwards struggle with free throw shooting, but Evans ranks 15th in the CAA hitting 73.5 from the charity stripe. Evelyn Lewis will have to play superb defense  on the 6-foot tall Evans, or she will burn the Patriots all day down low either with two's down low or at the line.

 2) Limit Easy Scoring Opportunities:

#2 Candace Bond Leads CAA in steals  w/ 3,2 per game

Currently Hofstra comes into this match-up leading the CAA in scoring, even above #12 Delaware, with the Pride averaging 75.8 points per game. Hofstra is led by 3 players who are averaging more then 10 points per gam, including Shante Evans(18.2), Katelyn Loper(13.9), and Nicole Capurso(11.7). But more then balanced scoring attack of Hofstra is the tenacious defense that has lead to their 10.5 steals per game average,  which ranks them 2nd in the CAA. This is not to say that the Hofstra defense is by any means dominant, as they are giving up 71 points per game, but they are a team that looks to convert on another teams miscues. Candace Bond of Hofstra leads the CAA in steals at 3.2 per game, and with her great length at being 5'10 she is a formidable defender even when she does not get the steal. Hofstra has 3 players in the top 15 of the conference who average more then 1.5 steals per game, and Mason will need to be sure they secure the ball and not make lazy passes cross court or down low.

3) Rebound the Ball:

Rebounding is a part of Mason's game that they have struggled with during different parts of the season so far, but it will a major factor the Patriots will have to focus and hold their own against Hofstra. Hofstra leads the rebounding categories head-to-head against Mason, both offensive and defensive, coming into this game. But the specific rebound catagory Mason should focus the most attention on is the defensive end, where the Pride rank 2nd in conference hauling in 28 defensive rebounds per game compared to the Patriots' 24.9. This not might seem like a big deficit on paper, but these five extra rebounds could be five less scoring opportunities that you give to the highest scoring offense in the league in Hofstra. Amber Easter and Evelyn Lewis both rank in the top 15 in overall rebounding in the CAA with just over 6 per game, and they will have to show up and be a factor on that side of the ball in this match-up for Mason to win this game. It will be important for those two players to battle hard to box-out and try to neutralize Hoftra's double-double threat that is Shante Evans.

Tip-off is set for 2pm at the Patriot Center in Fairfax. This will be Mason's first and only match-up against Hofstra this season, making the game and the potential tie-breaker implications all the more important. You can listen to the action live her on WGMUradio.com.

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 Hold Off Rowdy Rams, Capture Victory 71-58

           The George Mason Patriots looked to overturn their bad fortunes on Sunday, as they took on the 11-6 (4-2) VCU Rams. Mason had run into a string of bad luck, losing 6 of their last 7 games. They would be facing one of their toughest tests however, guarding the powerful senior forward Courtney Hurt. Hurt came into Sunday's game averaging 23.2 points per game, 6th in all of women's college basketball.

            Mason got out ahead with an impressive 7-4 run, which included a 3-pointer from Janaa Pickard. The Rams responded with a 12-7 run of their own, sparked by a three ball from Hurt. Both teams were able to distribute the ball well in the early going, with the Rams having 8 different players score in the first half. Mason was led by the three-pronged attack of Taleia Moton, Amber Easter, and Janaa Pickard. Moton was able to slash and dash her way to the hoop, even drawing a hack and converting an and-one opportunity.

            The conclusion of the first half found Mason leading the Rams 35-26. The Patriots shot an impressive 50% from the field and from downtown. Moton led the way for George Mason with 12 points and 2 rebounds. Pickard added 10 and Easter had 7 of her own. For the Rams it was a clearly balanced scoring effort, with Hurt and Barbour combining for 13 first half points. VCU struggled with their ball handling, as they compiled 8 turnovers and only 7 assists. Mason on the other hand only had 5 turnovers and 11 assists, scoring 13 of their 35 points off of VCU's turnovers.

            Mason came out of the break hot, with 6 straights buckets to push the lead up to 41-26. VCU instantly answered with a outside shooting clinic run by Andrea Barbour, as she hit back-to-back bombs to cut the lead to 9. In fact, the only shots the Rams made in the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half were from beyond the arc, connecting on 5 long balls. George Mason wouldn't let the Rams hot shooting cut in on the lead too much, as Moton had 9 of the Patriots first 18 2nd half points to put them up 53-43 with 12 minutes left in the game.

            Every time it seemed the Rams were ready to stage a comeback the Patriots answered, whether it was a breakway layup for Moton or a turnaround layup from Evelyn Lewis. George Mason did not play like 8-9 (2-4) basketball team. They played with fire and heart, fighting for every rebound and playing stifling defense. Taleia Moton, as she has done all season long, completely took over in the 2nd half. The guard, now 11th in the NCAA in scoring, was there whenever Mason needed her, whether to hit a clutch jumper or break the full court press from the Rams.

            Mason came away with the victory, 71-58, in front of the large hometown crowd at the Patriot Center. Moton proved to be too much for the Rams to handle, as she finished with 29 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Courtney Hurt tried to keep VCU in the game with her 17 points and 5 board, but mostly struggled from the field. Mason is now 9-9 for the season and 3-4 in the Conference.

Keith's Keys to the Game: GMU vs. VCU

With Mason's victory over William & Mary last Thursday, the Patriots have finally broken their 6 game losing streak and look to continue the winning ways against bitter rival VCU. Mason (8-9) finds themselves at the bottom half of the conference standings, currently tied 8th with Towson and 4 games out of  first place in the CAA. VCU (11-6) on the other hand has won 3 of their last 4 conference games, and find themselves tied for 3rd place, and just two games back of CAA leader and nationally ranked #16 Delaware.

This matchup will most likely be a shootout, as VCU comes in averaging just over 67 points per contest, and two players who average more then 17 points per game. Mason comes in with the high scoring, high energy Taleia Moton who recently dropped 28 points on W&M, and who ranks 12th nationally with 20.5 ppg. In the 6 losses the VCU Rams have suffered this season, only in 1 game did they reach their average in scoring. The key for Mason will be to keep the Rams below 60-67 points on the day, thus hopefully ensuring that the Patriot defense is creating turnover opportunities  in-order for the offense to easily score.


Players to Watch:

Hurt- 23.4 ppg/12.7 rpg

Courtney Hurt: The senior star from VCU puts the "POWER" into the term "power-forward". Courtney Hurt is by far one of the best players in the CAA, as well as the NCAA, and someone that the Mason coaching staff will have to game plan against. Currently she is ranked 5th in the nation in scoring with 23.4 ppg, while also ranking 1st in the nation in rebounding with 12.7 boards per contest. Courtney will absolutely put the "Hurt" on the Mason defense if Evelyn Lewis does not take care to defend smarly and not get into foul trouble, as well as boxing out to fight for rebounds and position. Courtney has lead VCU in rebounding in 15 of 17 games so far this season. VCU will look to score inside with success, and then move outside when their guards start to get open because of double teams down low. It will be important for the Patriots to do their best to limit Courtney in the amount of easy scoring opportunities she gets, as well as executing efficient help defense and shifting.

Barbour- 17.5 ppg/6.3 rpg

Andrea Barbour: The redshirt senior from VCU is a very dynamic guard who uses her height(5'10) to over-power smaller guards and defenders. On the season Barbour is averaging just over 17 points and 6.3 rebound per game, making her 2nd on the team in scoring and rebounding. Mason will be at somewhat of a disadvantage, with primary guards Taleia Moton and Rahneeka Saunders both being 5'6 and 4 inches shorter then Barbour. The Mason defense may have to rely on skilled forward/guard Amber Easter to use her lanky 6'0 frame to disrupt the potent scoring ability of Barbour by creating a size mismatch. Amber Easter is a player who is most closely equal to the athletic ability and size of Barbour. In 3 of the last 4 games for VCU, Barbour has scored 18, 23, and 24 points against CAA competition.

5 rebounds(4 off) against W&M

Rachel McNair: For Mason, the impact player could be the person you least expect it to be. Freshman forward Rachel McNair had a solid contribution in the Patriots victory over W&M, corralling 5 rebounds in just 10 minutes on the court. With her 6'0-6'1 frame and now proven ability to fight for rebounds, McNair could be a major player in attempting to negate the impact that Courtney Hurt will have on the game down low in the paint. McNair not only represents a possible solution to shutting down VCU's star player, but Rachel represents the potential production from the bench that Mason has been looking for all season. If McNair can come off the bench and contribute solid time for hopefully +10 minutes, this will enable the starters to take a breather and regroup without worrying about a let down on the court.


Tip-off is slated for Sunday at 2 pm in the Patriot Center. VCU leads the all-time series 27-26, and the Rams most recently defeated the Patriots last season 64-46 in Richmond. Click Here to listen to the game live!

Lucky Number Seven! Patriots Polish off William & Mary 82-70, End Six Game Losing Streak

Taleia Moton dropped 28 points on 53% shooting

The six game losing streak is finally over, and it comes in a critical conference game against in-state rival William and Mary. Both teams came in battling to get their second win in-conference, and continue to try to improve their standing before the upcoming CAA tournament seeding in March. Mason had a complete performance on the offensive end with 5 players scoring in double digits, including 4 starters, and outscoring the W&M Tribe by a 18 point margin in the second half to complete the come from behind victory.

 In terms of hustling hard and leaving it all on the court, this was no doubt Mason's best game of the season. After falling behind early by a 22-8 margin just 8 minutes into the game, Mason was able to keep their composure and patiently chip away at the lead and take it back close to midway through the second half. 

Taleia Moton had a huge scoring output, as she is known to do especially at home, dropping 28 points on 53% shooting from the field. Moton is the barometer for how well this team performs, and it was no more evident tonight when the Patriots trailed at halftime by 6 with Taleia only contributing 5 points. But she got hot at the right time, dropping 23 points in the last 20 minutes, to help the Patriots evaporate the deficit and build their own lead to the final margin of 12 points during the dwindling minutes of the game.

What helped Mason achieve this victory, other then Moton's efficient and high scoring night, was the ability of Amber Easter to score as well as the performance of the bench players. Amber Easter has been hot and cold since her early season injury, and in the last three games only had a total of 20 combined points. Tonight was different though, Easter was able to hit 7 of 10 from the field for 18 points to go along with 7 rebounds(4 offensive) and 2 steals. This was Easter's second highest scoring output of the season, her season high coming in the season opener against American with 20 points over two months ago. Last night's game was by far one of Easter's most complete performances of the season, and helped secure the victory for the home team and hopefully something we will see more of from a very multi-dimensional player.

The bench only had 12 points, but in a game where only 4 substitutes played 31 minutes, it was a solid night. The hot and cold spark plug Christine Weithman was the main contributor off the bench with 10 points in 16 minutes on the court, and hit 2 of 3 from behind the three point arc. All year she has shown flashes of greatness, especially from behind the arc, and her continuing contribution will be something the Patriots will rely on to start a new winning streak. Also freshman forward Rachel McNair contributed 5 rebounds(3 offensive) and 2 points in only 10 minutes on the court. Rebounding is huge for the Patriots, especially off the bench. For McNair to snare 3 offensive boards in limited court time is what lead to second chance points, and allowed Mason to rest starters while still getting solid production.

On the defensive side of the ball Mason played pretty solidly except for the early 16-0 run in the early minutes of the first half, in which W&M shot 51.6% from the field. The Patriot defense was able to contain W&M's star player Janine Aldridge to below her conference scoring average of  19.2 points per game, holding her to 18 points and limiting easy scoring opportunities. In the second half the Patriots shut down all of W&M's scorers, and held them to shooting a dismal 27.8% as a team. Mason lost the turnover battle but was able to make general defensive scheme adjustments in the second half that shut down both the outside and inside shooting, which held W&M to just 10 of 36 shooting in the last 20 minutes of play.

The Patriots are now tied with Towson for 8th in the CAA with a 2-4 conference record, and improve to  8-9 on the season overall. Mason will next host rival VCU (11-6) in the Patriot Center at 2 pm on Sunday, the 2nd game of a  3 night home-stand.