Jan. 8, 2006

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - George Mason University's women's basketball team dropped a 57-55 decision to Virginia Commonwealth Sunday afternoon at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond. With this loss, Mason falls to 4-8 and 0-3 in Colonial Athletic Association play, while VCU improves to 8-4 and 1-2.

Tracy Ann Holness and Moni Akintunde led the Patriots, netting 15 points apiece.

Redshirt freshman Quanitra Hollingsworth, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds, recorded the most blocks (8) by a Ram since Svetlana Pankratova set the school record of 11 against Virginia Tech on Feb. 12, 1994.

In the first half, Slade hit one of two free throws at the 2:28 mark to tie the score at 21-21, but Stephanie Merlo sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a bucket by sophomore forward Miranda Smith to give the Rams a 29-21 lead with 16 ticks on the clock. Holness hit a jumper just prior to the halftime buzzer to pull Mason to within 29-23 at the break. Merlo had nine points in the first 20 minutes to lead the Black and Gold.

Trailing, 53-42 with 3:38 left, George Mason staged a 10-2 run behind four points each by Akintunde and Lateisha Wade to cut the margin to 55-52 with 26 seconds left. After two Wade free throws capped the run, VCU turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play.

Gaining possession with 25 seconds remaining, the Patriots' Jen Daniels misfired on a 3-point try and Nikkia Slade couldn't convert a putback attempt. Hollingsworth corralled Slade's miss and was immediately fouled with 14.9 showing. Hollingsworth knocked down both free throws, giving the Black and Gold a 57-52 edge. Holness hit a 3-pointer as time expired to compete the scoring.

The Patriots play their next two games at home, starting with a 7 p.m. match-up against Delaware on Jan. 27.