FAIRFAX, VA -- Junior guard Alena Koshansky (right) put on a show for her hometown crowd Sunday afternoon as the University of Delaware point guard tied a school record with six three-pointers and finished with a career-high 24 points as the Blue Hen women’s basketball squad opened Colonial Athletic Association play with a 74-63 win over George Mason at the Patriot Center.

Koshansky, a native of Fairfax who was an All-State selection at nearby Chantilly High School, hit on six of seven shots from the field, including all six of her three-point attempts, and also added five rebounds and five assists to lead the Blue Hens (5-1, 1-0 CAA) to their second straight victory. Koshansky’s previous career-high was 19 points vs. Towson during her freshman year in 2003-04.

She tied two records on the day, equalling the mark for total three-pointers in a game set by Megan Dellegrotti vs. Princeton on Nov. 23, 1999 and tying the record for consecutive three-pointers set by Bev Santee over two games during the 1995-96 season.

Delaware guard Tyresa Smith added 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists, Chrissy Fisher chipped in with 12 points and five assists, and Amanda Blackstone came off the bench to add nine points and five rebounds as the Blue Hens successfully began defense of their 2004-05 CAA regular season title. The Hens have now won 21 of their last 23 CAA regular season games since 2003-04 and have downed George Mason four
straight times.

The Patriots (3-3, 0-1 CAA), who have lost three of their last four games, got 18 points and six rebounds off the bench from Nikkia Slade and 10 points from reserve Casey Quigley. Center Moni Akintunde was the only GMU starter in double figures with 11 points to go with five rebounds. Keyhana Wakefield added a career-high seven assists.

“It was another big road win for us,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, whose team won its sixth straight conference opener. “I’m so proud of Alena. She came back to her hometown and stepped up and had a big game. It was important for us to start off the conference season with a win and we got that today.”

Delaware shot better than 50 percent from the field for the fourth time this season as the Hens connected on 24 of 45 shots from the field (.533), including 9 of 11 from beyond the three-point line. The Hens hit on 12 of 21 second half shots to pull away from a tight 33 31 halftime lead.

The first half featured six lead changes and the Hens mounted their biggest advantage when Koshansky hit two three pointers and Blackstone added another to put Delaware up 28-23 with 4:07 left. George Mason regained the lead on a three-pointer with Quigley with 2:05 left, but the Hens finished the stanza with jumpers from Smith and Courtney Irving and a free throw by Melissa Czorniewy to go up 33-31.

The Hens led the entire second half as they outscored George Mason 18-7 over the first nine minutes to take a double-digit lead at 51-38 with 11:01 left on a jumper by Fisher. The Patriots never got closer than nine points the rest of the way, cutting the lead to 62-53 with 5:23 remaining. Delaware enjoyed its biggest lead of the day at 60-45 with 7:17 remaining.

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