MOUNT ST. MARY'S (3-4) vs. GEORGE MASON (7-1)
Saturday, December 9 | 1 p.m.
Emmitsburg, Md. | Knott Arena
 
GAME NOTES | WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
EMMITSBURG, Md. (December 8, 2023) – Mount St. Mary's women's basketball looks to get back to the .500 mark as they host the George Mason Patriots, led by Vanessa Blair-Lewis, to Knott Arena for a Saturday matinee.  
 
The Northeast Conference Player of the Decade for the 1990s, Blair-Lewis remains first in career blocks in Mount program history (242) and ninth on the all-time points list (1,488). She served as head coach from 1998-2007, amassing 120 victories. While coaching here, Blair-Lewis received Hall of Fame induction in 2003 and her #24 jersey was retired in 2019.
 
MOUNT UPDATE
 
Continuing to crack down on turnovers while solving issues with rebounding, the Mountaineers came away with a 55-46 decision against the Bucknell Bison. Jo Raflo was one of the three players in double figures and Isabella Hunt added 12 rebounds. Jada Lee matched in career highs in points with 10, while also matching in field goals, assists, and steals, tallying four for each category.
 
As a group, the team limited their turnovers to eight and matched the Bison in rebounding, 33-33. Under Coach White's direction, the Mount is 18-4 when tying or outlasting the competition in rebounds, and 21-7 when they turn the ball over less.
 
Holding Bucknell to 46 placed the Mount back into the top 100 for scoring defense at 70^th in the nation. The team is also 41^st in three-point defense, 52^nd in overall field goal percentage defense and 68^th in shooting foul shots.

SCOUTING GEORGE MASON
 
Blair-Lewis has the Patriots off to a roaring start in her third season at the helm. 7-1 GMU has wins over Pitt and Marshall on the résumé, with the lone loss a nine-point defeat at Maryland. Their leading scorer is Sonia Smith, a familiar sight to the Mount following a successful career at Sacred Heart. George Mason is prolific on offense, scoring 77.4 points per game and shooting at 41.5 percent for the season. Teams can score some on the Patriots, but need to be efficient given that Mason grabs an average of 43.4 rebounds per contest.  

THE ALL-TIME SERIES
 
This is the sixth contest all-time between the schools, with George Mason taking four of the past five. The last time the teams meet, Coach Blair-Lewis was on the Mount's sidelines, facing the Patriots in 2004 and 2005. Mount's lone win in the series came on January 26, 1978 in Memorial Gym by a 91-66 final.  

LOOKING AHEAD
 
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play begins Saturday, December 16 when the team travels to Fairfield.