This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Hoops Fans From Out of State Head to Upper Marlboro

CAA basketball tourney at The Show Place Arena draws supporters from around the region.

Bill and Margie Apps left their home in Delaware on Thursday morning and drove 90 minutes to The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.

They were sitting in the front row with other fans of the University of Delaware when the Division I Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball tournament began at noon with George Mason facing Georgia State.

As long-time fans of the Delaware program, the Apps attended the CAA tourney when it was held on the Delaware campus in 2007 and 2008. But they are glad to see the event at a neutral site for first time since 1998.

Find out what's happening in Upper Marlborowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I think it is great," Margie Apps said of The Show Place venue, which had a few hundred fans in the stands as Georgia State beat Mason.

The Apps are staying at a hotel in Bowie for the tourney.

Find out what's happening in Upper Marlborowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Noreen Hunger drove from Virginia Beach on Wednesday and is staying at the Gaylord National at National Harbor, the official host of the tourney. She is a fan of Old Dominion and was sitting in the stands on Thursday as she watched William and Mary face Hofstra. ODU had a first-round bye and will play Friday.

"It is nice and big," she said of The Show Place Arena. "The food is good. That is a plus."

James Madison, in Harrisonburg, Va., hosted the CAA tourney in 2009 and 2010. The Dukes beat ODU in the title game last March. JMU is led by senior guard Dawn Evans, one of the top scorers in the country.

Delaware, the No. 7 seed, faced No. 10 Northeastern in the third game on Thursday. No. 5 Hofstra met No. 12 William and Mary in the second game and No. 6 Drexel met No. 11 Towson in the fourth and final game Thursday. The top player for Delaware is sophomore Elena Delle Donne, who was the player of the year in the CAA last season.

The tourney continue with four games on Friday and the two semifinal contests on Saturday. The CAA title game is Sunday at 1 p.m., with the winner getting an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney.

Moton returns to Prince George's with Mason

Taleia Moton, the point guard for George Mason, returned to Prince George's County as a starter for the Patriots in the first game on Thursday. A product of Suitland High from Forestville, she had just four points at halftime but ended up with a game-high 19 points, two steals and one assist against Georgia State.

Mason lost, 68-64, despite a strong comeback in the second half. "It was nice to play in front of family and friends," Moton told Patch after the game. "I knew I had my supporters, a decent amount. It was nice to have the sixth man."

Jeri Porter, the Mason head coach, grew up in Prince George's and played in college at Liberty in Virginia. She also coached Moton at Radford before heading to Mason; Porter finished her third season at GMU with a record of 13-17.

"I have been excited about coming here since I found out we would be playing here," Porter said. "We are getting better. I feel we are moving in the right direction."

Georgia State led, 38-26, at halftime before Mason battled back. "We continued to stay positive," said Moton, a transfer from Radford who led the Patriots in scoring this season. "We had 20 minutes to continue to fight and get the win."

Georgia State (12-18) had three players in double figures while Mason made just three of 21 three-point shots. "You have to give Georgia State credit," Porter said. "They shot the ball well."

Pros and cons of neutral site

Tom Yeager, the commissioner of the CAA since its inception in 1985, sat courtside on Thursday afternoon for the second game, between William and Mary and Hofstra. He admitted they are possible drawbacks to having the tourney at a neutral site, including a drop in attedance. "This is inherent with any neutral site," Yeager told Patch.

Yeager and his staff made a few visits to Show Place in the previous months to meet with staff on site. This weekend the 12 teams and CAA staff are staying at the Gaylord National at National Harbor. The annual CAA banquet was held there Wednesday night. "We have been pleased with Show Place. And National Harbor, so far it has been great," Yeager said.

Four more games on Friday at Show Place

Evans and regular-season champion James Madison will play the first game at noon on Friday against Georgia State. Does Georgia State head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener have any secrets how to stop Evans?

"Do you have any?" she asked a reporter after Thursday's win over Mason. "We will tee it up and give it our best shot. We are going to be ready to play. They are a lot more than Dawn Evans. They are well coached and they also have some good pieces" to go with Evans.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Upper Marlboro