FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason cut the score to a single possession on several occasions in the second half, but could not come away with the win, falling to Towson, 59-53 Sunday afternoon in the Patriot Center. Amber Easter tied her career-high of 20 points to pace three Patriots in double figures. Mason dipped to 12-14 overall and 6-9 in Colonial Athletic Association play, while Towson improved to 9-17, 3-12.

Easter led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Brittany Poindexter with 12 and Taleia Moton with 10. Krystal Parnell paced the Tigers with 19 points as Jaleesa Dryver added 11. The Patriots won the edge on glass, 37-36, and recorded 12 assists led by Easter's four. Parnell dished out 10 assists for Towson.

Mason struggled from the floor in the opening half, hitting only three field goals, all from Easter, by the second media timeout at 11:38. Holding the Patriots scoreless through the third media timeout, the Tigers built a 14-6 lead.  Coming out of the break at 7:55, Mason used a 10-5 run fueled by six points from Poindexter to cut the score to a five-point ballgame, 21-16, with 3:47 to play. Rahneeka Saunders cut the score to one point hitting a jumper at 1:45, but Towson closed the half on a 7-0 run for a 28-20 halftime advantage.

Mason slowly attacked its halftime deficit and cut the score to a single possession on an Easter triple at the 14:33 marker, 32-31. Dryver hit back-to-back buckets just under 11 minutes to put Towson up by six, 41-35, with 10:31 to play. Brittany Eley hit a three-pointer from the top of the key at 9:41 seconds before Poindexter hit a jumper, slicing the score back to one point, 41-40.  The Tigers built their lead back out to six points at 50-44 as Easter hit a trey from the left wing at 1:53 for a 54-49 Towson advantage.

Tanisha McTiller failed to connect on a pair of free throws with Moton grabbing the rebound and converting on a layup for a 54-51 ballgame with 1:19 remaining. Hitting four free throws, Towson took a 57-51 lead before Poindexter connected on a layup with 12.8 seconds to play for Mason's last field goal. Parnell closed the game hitting two free throws for the final 59-53 score.