Dec. 7, 2008

Box Score

ROCK HILL, S.C. - The George Mason women's basketball team struggled from the field as they were unable to record their first victory of the season, falling 58-42 to Winthrop in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon. Mason fell to 0-8 with the loss, while Winthrop improved to 4-3 on the season.

The 440 fans in attendance at Winthrop Coliseum could be forgiven if they left the arena with their ears ringing, as the two teams were whistled for a combined 48 fouls and 70 free throw attempts in the game. Senior Whitney Ward led the Patriots with 11 points while Jennifer Walker led the Eagles with 12.

The Patriots were plagued by poor field goal shooting in the first half but balanced that with a strong defensive performance. Mason held the Eagles to 7-for-20 shooting (35 percent) and held a 23-to-17 rebounding advantage, but could only connect on four of its 22 field goal attempts (18.2 percent).

After Winthrop opened the game on a 7-1 run, Mason pulled within two at 7-5 but the Eagles expanded their lead as large as 10 in the half, and ultimately a van Daalen layup with 16 seconds left in the period sent the teams to halftime with the score 26-18 in favor of the Eagles.

Winthrop continued to build on their advantage out of the break, opening on a 13-2 run within the first 4:06 to leave the score 39-20. Mason could move no closer than nine in the half, when freshman Deidre Richardson hit a jumper on the fast break to cut the gap to 43-34.

The Patriots will take the next two weeks off for winter exams and return to action on December 21 when they close out their five-game road trip at local foe Howard at 7 p.m.