Nov. 23, 2010
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
FAIRFAX, Va. - In the home opener for the George Mason women's basketball team, the Patriots dominated on the boards and secured a 54-38 victory over UMBC Tuesday night in the Patriot Center. Mason out-rebounded the Retrievers 37-24, led by Evelyn Lewis with eight, and scored 13 second chance points in the win that pushed the Patriots to 2-2 on the season. UMBC dropped to 1-4.
Two Patriots posted double-digit scoring numbers led by Amber Easter with 16 and Rahneeka Saunders with a career-high 12 points off the bench. Lewis led on the glass with eight rebounds followed by Easter with six.
While limiting their turnovers to 13, Mason forced 21 Retriever turnovers, converting the mishaps into 18 points. With 20 offensive boards and 17 defensive rebounds, the Patriots scored 24 points in the paint and 13 second chance points, while limiting UMBC to 24 rebounds. Mason collected 12 steals while forcing 21 Retriever turnovers. Taleia Moton led the Patriots with three steals.
UMBC was led by Tope Obajolu with 11 points and Meghan Colabella and Michelle Kurowski each pulled down four rebounds.
Mason used 12 offensive rebounds coupled with eight defensive boards to take a 29-19 lead into halftime. Easter chipped in eight points to lead the offensive front for Mason followed by Brittany Eley with seven points. The Retrievers kept the contest close as Mason's largest lead was only four points on several occasions until the Patriots started to pull away in the final minutes of the first half. UMBC knotted the score at 19-19 with 3:08 to go as Mason closed the first half on a 10-0 run. The Patriots pushed its lead out with buckets from Eley, Moton, a three-pointer from Saunders and free throws from Easter and Moton over the final 2:46 of the first half for the 29-19 advantage.
UMBC was held to only two free throws and one rebound over the first six minutes of the second half as Mason pushed its lead to 37-21. The Patriots took a 20-point lead at 43-23 off an Eley jumper before UMBC hit a trio of treys and a layup to cut the score to 43-34. Ashleigh Braxton broke the Retriever 11-0 run with a jumper at the 7:27 mark, while Saunders hit her third trey of the evening at the 4:29 marker to set a career-high and a Mason lead of 14 at 50-36. The Patriots finished strong on an Easter fastbreak layup and two free throws from Braxton for the final 54-38 score.
George Mason returns to the court Friday, November 26 welcoming Radford to the Patriot Center for a 7 p.m. tip.
