Dec. 1, 2007

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - Seeking its fourth win in a row, the George Mason women's basketball team fell prey to the University of Richmond on Saturday afternoon as the Spiders notched a 71-55 non-conference victory at the Robins Center. Mason leveled its season record at 3-3, while the Spiders improved to 5-4 on the year.

Senior Lateisha Wade continued to pace the Patriots offense, as she led the team with 17 points including a game-high three field goals from beyond the arc. Wade, Mason's leading scorer in all six games in 2007 thus far, also chipped in four rebounds. Junior Jessica Smith, who swiped a career-high four steals, was one of three Patriots to grab five boards along with freshmen Brittany Poindexter and Eugenia Broadus. Richmond saw three scorers reach double figures, led by Brittani Shells's game-best 18 points.

The teams traded baskets in the early moments of the game, but a pair of treys by Hobbs and Wade gave Mason a 12-6 lead at the 15:22 mark. Richmond moved within one at 14-13, and overtook the Patriots with a Shells basket. Mason regained the lead on another three-pointer by Wade with 9:37 remaining, but was held scoreless for 3:29 while the Spiders embarked on an 9-0 run to open up a 24-17 advantage.

The Patriots countered by moving within two at 26-24 on a Eugenia Broadus basket. It was the last Mason scoring of the opening stanza as Richmond poured in eight unanswered points to set the halftime score of 34-26.

Coming out of the break, Mason closed the gap to seven points with a layup by Hobbs, but from there the Spiders' 13-3 run gave Richmond a 53-35 lead. That advantage would grow as large as 23, before Mason brought the final difference to 16 as the clock expired.

In the game, Richmond out-shot the Patriots by a 50.0-to-40.0 percent margin, and out-rebounded Mason by a 43-27 margin.

Mason will be back in action on the road Tuesday when it visits Bucknell in the Patriots' final contest before a 15-day break for final exams. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.