Patriots Capture First Win of Season, Beat UMES 64-38

Nothing feels better than grabbing that first win of the season, and the Patriots were able to celebrate their mark at home in front of the Patriot Center faithful on Tuesday night. The great finish in their loss the previous game carried some momentum into the start of this one as George Mason jumped out to a big 37-21 lead at the half. The Patriots resembled almost an entirely different team this game as they found scoring options in the paint, shot well from the floor at the start, and forced plenty of turnovers leading to open looks. The Lady   Hawks were able to chip into the Patriot lead somewhat, hitting 3 three-pointers in the first half, two from Jessica Long and the other from TeAmber Burke.

One of the great surprises in two games here for the Patriots is the production from the Pensacola State College transfer Kyana Jacobs. Jacobs had 11 points and 5 rebounds, and now is averaging close to 8 points per game on the season. Two other key contributors for George Mason this game were Janaa Pickard (10 points, 6 rebounds) and Rahneeka Saunders (13 points, 4 steals). The Patriots played brilliantly defensively this game, forcing 21 UMES turnovers and snagging 13 steals.

The second half for the Patriots did not start off on the right foot, as UMES built a steady comeback forcing Mason to call a timeout around 3 minutes in. But a steady salvo of points, combined with a 17-0 run later in the half, helped close out the Lady Hawks for good. This brings the Patriots record overall to 1-1, as they also celebrated Head Coach Jeri Porter's 200th career victory.

George Mason finished their home-stand against Morgan State on Friday at 7 pm.

Slow Start Plagues Patriots, Lose 62-58 to Oakland

When Mason forward Janaa Pickard hit a jumper 17 seconds into the Patriot's first game of the regular season against Oakland it appeared to set the tone that GMU was going to be a different team on the road this season. Grabbing only four wins away from the Patriot Center last year, Mason had an opportunity to improve on that record right off the bat. But the mood quickly turned sour when it took another five minutes for Mason to score again in a half that found them unable to get anything going as they found themselves stymied by the Golden Grizzlies. While Mason only shot 25% from the floor in that first half, Oakland saw everything go in as they shot 52% from the field including five three-pointers. It was a first half to forget for Mason as they trailed 37-20 at the break.

The offense picked up quite a bit in the second half of play, as the Patriots found their way into a groove. Amber Easter picked up her first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds. Pickard finished strong as well, finishing with 10 points. The rebounding improved mightily as well as the Patriots grabbed one more rebound than the Golden Grizzlies, 38-37. Oakland was led by Annemarie Hamlet who finished with 19 points and 4 assists. It may have just been those opening game jitters that kept GMU cold to start, but a 38-25 scoring margin in the second half will hopefully propel Mason heading into their second game.

Preview: GMU vs. Oakland

Another Women's Basketball season is upon us, as the year kicks off with the Lady Patriots visiting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on November 9th, tip-off scheduled for 5 pm. The 2012-13 campaign brings back some old faces as three starters return: Sr. Guard/Forward Amber Easter (12 ppg, 7 rpg), Redshirt Jr. Forward Janaa Pickard (8.5 ppg 5.6 rpg), and Sr. Guard Rahneeka Saunders (7.5 ppg 5.4 rpg). Sorely missed from last year's graduating class will be the inside presence of Evelyn Lewis and the flashy scoring of Taleia Moton, as GMU will need some of the younger players such as 6'2 Sophomore Talisha Watts and her fellow Sophomore Rachel McNair to help fill the shoes down low.The Patriots finished 15-16 overall last season, losing in the CAA Quarterfinals to JMU. There was plenty of exciting moments last year that Coach Jeri Porter hopes continue to this year's Patriots.

A win on the road to kick off the season would be huge for a team that finished 4-10 on the road last year, one of those four being against these very same Golden Grizzlies (59-48). Look for Pickard to have a strong game as she was able to collect four blocks in last year's victory. Pickard really flourished last season into quite an offensive force, able to hit elbow jumpers on a consistent basis as well as draw fouls. There should be no doubt that she will most likely improve even more on last year's numbers to round out the "Big Three".  Saunders will look to average in double-figures this season with more opportunities now with Moton gone, she will need to have a big scoring game right off the bat to complement the scoring production of Easter.

Some other key names to mention: the sharp-shooting Junior Guard Christine Weithman and the 6'0 Redshirt Senior Forward Joyous Tharrington. Weithman shot close to 40% from long-range last year (2nd on the team) and shoots well from the free-throw stripe. Weithman mainly came off the bench last season but if she can continue to hit bombs on a consistent basis there should be plenty of minutes available for her at shooting guard. Tharrington was another player who really pulled together a strong season, finishing just behind Moton with field goal percentage (.448), also grabbing plenty of boards and making 27 of 33 free-throws last year (.818).

 A major key is limiting turnovers, without Moton handling the ball this year the pressure will be on Saunders to keep those turnover numbers low. They also can't let Oakland have any second chances, losing Lewis down low with her rebounding ability will be tough, but Mason has some players who can really clean up the glass. If they can accomplish these things, GMU can start off the year on the right foot.