Nov. 25, 2008

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The George Mason women's basketball team opened up a five-game road trip on Tuesday evening at Jacksonville but was unable to come away with a victory as the Dolphins defeated the Patriots, 69-49, in non-conference action at Swisher Gymnasium.

Senior Whitney Ward led Mason (0-5) with 14 points, 10 of which coming from the free throw line, while sophomore Eugenia Broadus was the top rebounder for the Patriots, pulling down six rebounds. Virginia Gregoire had 22 points to lead the Dolphins, who evened their season record at 2-2.

JU scored first and after Mason tied the contest, the Dolphins used a 7-0 run to take a 9-2 lead at the 16:33 mark. Mason was able to pull within six when, with 11:35 left in the first half, freshman Rachel Robinson scored on a layup to leave the score at 19-13. However, Jacksonville went on another 7-0 run to set the margin at 13, which grew as large as 18 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.

Jacksonville used a sharp-shooting first half, connecting on 17 of 33 field goal attempts (51.5 percent) while Mason was limited to 33.3 percent field goal shooting (7-of-21).

In the second half, the Dolphin lead reached 26 before Mason closed the game on an 8-2 scoring run, capped by two Ward free throws with three seconds showing on the clock.

For the game, JU out-shot Mason by a 45.9-to-36.4 percent margin and held a slim 35-to-31 advantage off the glass. Turnovers were an issue though, as the Patriots gave the ball away 26 times to Jacksonville's 18 turnovers.

The Patriots are back in action next Monday when they travel to High Point for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Panthers.