The 2019-2020 George Mason Patriots will kick off their season tonight at College of Charleston. The Patriots are coming off a 16-14 (8-8 A-10) campaign a year ago while the Cougars went 7-23 (3-15 CAA). These two teams met last season in Fairfax, in which George Mason was victorious in a 66-52 bout at EBA.
Expectations are high this season for Mason, as the Patriots were picked to finish 6th in the Atlantic 10 this season, their highest predicted finish since joining the conference in 2013. This coming on the heels of Junior guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary being named to the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, recognizing the top point guard in Women’s College Basketball. Additional preseason honors for the Patriots include Nicole being named to the Preseason All-Conference First Team while Senior forward Jacy Bolton, was named to All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team. In addition, Nikki ranked fourth in the nation Division I returning scorers from last season.
It’s been a long off-season for the Patriots, a sentiment echoed by head coach Nyla Milleson at the Women’s Basketball open practice that was held on October 19th. That 2OT loss to UMass in the opening round of the 2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament has sat with this team for a while, and you can see it in the eyes of this team that it motivates them. Mason did benefit this summer from a Italian trip in which the team got to play three scrimmages against collegiate and professional teams in Italy.
There is a lot of optimism around the program right now, and as Coach Milleson pointed out during the open practice, this team has a but more length and athleticism then teams in the past have. Most notably, Freshman forward Vita Stam really stood out during practice, and will add a dimension of height and athleticism with the potential to become a real force inside for years to come. Here are some more notes from the open practice:
Some thoughts from @MasonWBB practice:
-Lots of motion offense, similar to last season
-Mix of man 2 man D & 2/3 zone
-Freshman are looking good, especially Vita Stam, Tamia Lawhorne & Jordan Wakefield.
-This team has more length & athleticism than in years past#GetPatriotic— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) October 19, 2019
-Lots of growth from the upperclassmen, especially Devyn Wilson, Livija Kaktaite & Marika Korpinen.
-Camarie Gatling looks poised for a big jump this season.
-Loving the upperclassmen leadership from Nikki, Jacy Bolton, Sarah Kaminski, Alexsis Grate & Allie McCool#GetPatriotic— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) October 19, 2019
Getting back to the task at hand, College of Charleston was picked to finish 9th out of 10 teams in the 2019-20 CAA Preseason poll, and Senior guard Deja Ford was named to Honorable Mention for CAA Preseason Player of the Year.
An interesting wrinkle to this game will be who can remain focused and not look ahead, as both Mason and Charleston will face an ACC opponent in their next game, as George Mason will host Virginia Tech on Sunday while Charleston will travel to Wake Forest on Friday. Should that become a distraction for either team, it could spell trouble.
Still, this is a game in which George Mason should be able to go into Charleston, SC today and take care of business. There will undoubtly be some rust and first-game jitters, especially among the freshman, but I would consider it to be a true success of a game if most of the freshman can get their feet wet and get some game action to get their footing before Virginia Tech comes to town. Oh, and coming home with that W too.
Tipoff is at 6:30 and the game will be broadcast on FloSports.
