March 1, 2009

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The George Mason women's basketball team faced a stiff test in its final road game of the 2008-09 season, traveling to first-place Drexel, and the Patriots could not escape the Daskalakis Center with a victory, falling 64-47 to the Dragons on Sunday afternoon.

The Dragons (20-8, 15-2) locked up the number-one seed in the CAA Championship later this month with the win, while Mason fell to 4-24 and 2-15 in conference play.

Senior Brittney Wilkins led the Patriots with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting, but her day came to an unfortunate close as she suffered a serious knee injury in a collision under the basket. Her condition will be evaluated upon the team's return to Fairfax.

Gabriela Marginean led the Dragons with 19 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Eugenia Broadus was the top rebounder for Mason with 10 boards, as the Patriots held a 36-35 rebounding advantage.

Drexel had a strong start to the game, opening on a 10-2 run, while Mason was held without a field goal for the first 4:49. Wilkins ended the streak with a layup on a feed from Eley. Mason pulled as close as seven at 19-12 as Broadus scored a layup with 6:48 left in the half, but the Dragons closed out the half on an 18-4 run to take a 37-16 lead into the halftime locker room.

Mason's offense struggled in the first half, shooting 7-for-25 (28 percent) and turning the ball over 10 times, as compared to a 48.1 percent (13-27) shooting effort from Drexel and just three turnovers for the Dragons.

The second half saw Mason move no closer than 16 as the Dragons held off the Patriots to earn the season sweep.

Mason will return home for the final game of the regular season when it hosts Delaware on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Three seniors will be honored prior to the game as it is the final home contest in the careers of Chynelle Rogers, Whitney Ward and Wilkins.