Nov. 16, 2007

Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The George Mason women's basketball team was unable to overcome a strong Seton Hall offensive effort as the Patriots dropped a 78-41 decision to the Pirates, on Friday evening in the opening game of the 2007 Seton Hall Basketball Classic, presented by Alliance Sports and The Rock.

With the loss, Mason fell to 0-2, while the Pirates improved to 3-0 after a dominating performance in which they out-shot Mason by a 45.0-to-26.5 percent margin.

Mason's offense was led by senior Lateisha Wade, who scored nine points playing in her home state of New Jersey for the first time as a Patriot. Classmate Moni Akintunde chipped in eight, while freshman Brittany Eley added six points.

For the Pirates, Ebonie Williams led the charge with 16 points, while Noteisha Womack and Shantel Brown joined her in double figures with 14 and 12, respectively.

The teams were evenly matched through the early minutes of the game, as the score was tied 7-7 with 14:40 to go in the first half. Mason's only lead of the half came 21 seconds earlier, when Rashauna Hobbs drained a three-pointer to give the Patriots a 7-4 advantage.

From there, the Pirates went on a 12-0 run over the next 2:55 to provide all the cushion it would need. Mason stopped the scoring streak with a pair of Wade free throws, but Seton Hall found an answer nine seconds later on a Nicole Emery jumper. The Pirates continued to control the first half, as they opened their lead as large as 18 in the period. SHU out-shot the Patriots by a .500-to-.348 margin in the half.

A 9-2 run to open the second half extended the Pirate lead to 27, but the Pirates did not let up, leading by as many as 37 in the game as the clock expired.

Mason returns to action tomorrow when it faces the loser of the Toledo/San Diego game in the weekend tournament's consolation match. Tip off is set for 1 p.m.