Jan. 20, 2008

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Despite the third-straight game in double figures for freshman Brittany Eley, the Towson Tigers pulled away with a 13-2 run as they handed the George Mason women's basketball team its fourth-straight defeat by a 65-38 score on Sunday afternoon at Towson Center. Mason fell to 7-9 and 1-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Tigers' CAA record remained unblemished at 5-0 as they improved to 13-3 overall.

Eley led the Patriots with 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting (.545), while Haliena Snowden paced the Tigers' offense with 15 points, including 7-for-7 field goal shooting. In the game, the Tigers held a 46.0-to-29.4 field goal percentage advantage, while holding the Patriots without a 3-pointer for the first time this season.

Both teams struggled offensively in the early going, as each team was just 2-of-8 headed into the first scheduled timeout. Towson held a 5-4 lead at that point, when Mahan's 3-pointer with 15:46 on the clock ended a 4-2 Mason advantage. From there, the teams held serve for the next five minutes, with neither side taking a lead larger than one before Towson's 13-2 run put the Tigers ahead 22-12 with 6:31 left in the first half.

Mason ended the run with a Poindexter basket at the 4:19 mark, but the Tigers answered right back with a jumper from Jamell Beasley to maintain the 10-point Towson lead. Baskets by Holly Mahan and two from Shanae Baker-Brice, intersected by a Whitney Ward free throw, left the halftime margin at 30-15. In the first half, Mason was out-shot by a 37.8-to-22.2 percent margin, and was held without a field goal for the final 4:19 of the period. The 15 points in the first half was the lowest total by the Patriots for any half this season.

Though both teams shot relatively well coming out of the locker room, the Tigers maintained their advantage throughout the second stanza and expanded their lead as large as 29 when Jessica Haywood's basket put Towson ahead by a 65-36 score with 91 seconds left in the game. Mason added its final two points on free throws from senior Moni Akintunde and freshman Brittany Poindexter, who joined her classmate Eley in double figures with 10 points.

Mason will seek a return to the win column on Thursday evening when it hosts CAA foe William & Mary. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at Patriot Center.