No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball vs. George Mason preview

No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball returns home to seek its first win of the season against George Mason at the XFINITY Center on Sunday. 

Maryland lost its first game of the season in an encouraging fashion against No. 1 South Carolina, 103-91, in Paris. 

The Terps will try to get right in their home opener against a familiar opponent, the George Mason Patriots. The two teams have met every season for the last four years, and they’ve had some battles.

The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus at 1:00 p.m.

George Mason Patriots (2-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10)   

2025-26 record: 23-9 (16-2), Atlantic 10 co-regular-season champions

Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis is in her sixth season at George Mason and has completely rebuilt the program. She took over a team that finished with a 3-19 record after the 2020-21 season and now has three straight 20-win seasons and an NCAA tournament appearance in the 2024-25 season.  

They started the season with a dominant 91-71 home win against the Temple Owls and handled Akron at home, 66-60, Thursday. 

The Patriots added nine newcomers during the offseason and were picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll. They are currently ranked 94th in Bart Torvik’s power ratings. 

Players to Watch 

Summer Yancy, junior guard, 5-foot-11, No. 13 – The junior UCF transfer is George Mason’s leading scorer through two games. She’s averaging 17.5 points on 60.9% shooting from the field and 44.4% shooting from 3-point range. She scored 14 against Temple and added a team-high 21 points in their close game against Akron. She also has eight rebounds and 1.5 steals and blocks per game. Her one flaw? She’s shot 3-for-9 from the foul line so far. 

Anovia Sheals, junior guard, 5-foot-11, No. 4 – The Austin Peay transfer has put together two solid games for the Patriots. Sheals averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season. In her first two games in George Mason, she’s averaged 13.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She scored an efficient 17 points in the Patriots’ win against Temple and added 10 in their low-scoring win against Akron. She’s shooting 50% from the field and 27.3% from three. 

Mary Amoateng, sophomore guard, 5-foot-8, No. 11 – Amoateng is one of only four returners for George Mason. Her averages have increased from 8.5 points last season to 14.5 points in her first two games this season. She made the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams last season. She led the way in the win over Temple with 21 points on 5-for-12 shooting. She’s been lights out from behind the arc, shooting 55.6%, but has struggled to find her shot inside, shooting just 2-for-11 from close range. 

Strength

Shooting. The Patriots have shot the ball well through their first two games. They are 47.4% from the field and 38.1% from three, and 35th in the country in effective field-goal percentage. Their two leading scorers are shooting above 40% from 3-point range. The only place George Mason can’t seem to shoot from is the free-throw line, as it has shot just 60% as a team. 

Weakness

Turnovers. As most teams with nine newcomers would, the Patriots have shown some bumps and a lack of chemistry so far, mainly with turnovers. The Patriots are averaging 19.5 turnovers through two games. They have a 0.74 assist-to-turnover ratio and have lost the turnover margin in both their wins.  

Three things to know

1. George Mason is still looking for its first win ever over Maryland. Maryland is 8-0 over George Mason in their eight matches, all coming under head coach Brenda Frese. The two teams have scheduled each other for five straight seasons. The Terps’ average margin of victory is 19.5 in those matches, but the Patriots kept it within 10 points in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. 

2. The two teams match up, size-wise. Maryland allowed South Carolina to score 52 points in the paint, even with forward Nunu Agara fouling out with just 12 points. The Terps will size up far better against George Mason. The Patriots have just two players over six feet tall averaging more than 10 minutes a game. 

3. Maryland’s stars look to bounce back. Sophomore guard Addi Mack stole the show with a breakout 35-point performance against the top-rated team in the country, which included 31 second-half points. But Maryland’s other stars had underwhelming performances behind Mack. Agara finished with 12 points, and guards Oluchi Okananwa and Bri McDaniel finished with just 11 points each. The three combined to shoot just 11-for-33. All three Terps look to have an improved performance in their home opener.