Feb. 24, 2005
Box Score
Hempstead, NY - Sophomore forward Kristin Higy led five
starters in double figures with 15 points as George Mason opened up a
25-point halftime lead (45-20) and never looked back in posting a 71-59
victory over Hofstra on Thursday evening at Hofstra Arena.
The loss, Hofstra's second straight, drops the Pride's overall record
to 12-13 and their Colonial Athletic Association mark to 7-9. George
Mason improves to 11-14 and 7-9 in the CAA with the win.
Hofstra fell despite a strong effort from sophomore guard Cigi McCollin, who tallied a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action.
Following a McCollin three-pointer at the 17:00 mark of the first half
giving Hofstra an early 7-5 advantage, George Mason proceeded to score
18 of the game's next 20 points to open a 23-10 lead with 8:35
remaining in the first half. Junior guard Jen Daniels would get the run started and freshman forward Moni Akintunde would close the run with her first basket of the contest. After
McCollin nailed back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to seven
(23-16) at the 7:24 mark, the Patriots would outscore the Pride 22-4 to
end the first half as they led 45-20 at the break.
Daniels would push the Patriot lead up to 28, the largest of the
contest, just 19 seconds into the second half as she hit one of her two
three to give George Mason a 48-20 lead. Hofstra would slowly chip away
at the Patriot advantage, finally getting within 10 with 4:44 remaining
(62-52) following a jumper from sophomore forward Lizanne Murphy. Murphy would cut the deficit to nine just 32 seconds later as she hit one of two free throws, before George
Mason put the game out of reach with a quick 4-0 spurt to lead 66-53
with 2:57 left. The Pride would get no closer than nine the rest of the
way as the Patriots sank three free throws in the final minute for the
12-point margin of victory.
Sophomore center Vanessa Gidden was the only other member
of the Pride in double figures as she scored 14 points, including nine
in the second half. Murphy finished with a game-high nine rebounds,
while freshman guard India Ali dished out a game-high six
assists in the contest.
For George Mason, Akintunde added 13 points and a team-high eight
rebounds, while senior guard Lauren Hediger chipped in
with 12 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
