George Mason women's basketball start the season off strong as they beat Virginia Tech for the first time since 1989 Friday night at the Patriot Center. The Patriots used a complete team effort in the 77-69 win over the Hokies, led by a career night from redshirt junior Taylor Brown tying her career-high with 35 points in addition to a career high 11 rebounds and a double-double from senior Talisha Watts who put up 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“Great win. I'm really, really proud of that group of young ladies,” said head coach Nyla Milleson. “We weren't very good in our exhibition game, but we really committed to defend the last couple of weeks.”

Sandra Ngoie also hit double figures as the senior would register 15 points on five three. Kristie Mokube put up eight points in her Mason debut followed by freshman Tayler Dodson with six, though Milleson notes their total contribution does not show up on the stat sheet.

“I thought our freshman were fabulous,” Milleson said. “I've done this a long time and Tayler Dodson ranks as one of the smartest players I've coached. Talisha Watts played outstanding defense. I think we just had great contributions from 17 players tonight, because we were cheering our tail off on the bench.”

The win wasn't always a sure thing. The Patriots trailed by as much as nine twice in the first half, including a 20-11 deficit with 8:21 remaining before Mokube would hit a jumper to start a 10-0 Mason run to give the Patriots their first lead of the game. The Hokies would quickly recover to lead by as much as 25-21 with just under four minutes left in the first half, though they would not hold the lead for long. After a personal scoring drought lasting nearly 15 minutes, Brown hit three straight jumpers to give the Patriots back the lead. The Bowie, Md. native would go on to score 10 points in the last four minutes of the half to give Mason a 34-29 lead at the break.

Brown's lights-out scoring would continue into the second half, outscoring the Hokies 18-8 over a seven minute stretch dating back to the first half to give Mason a 42-33 lead with just over 17 minutes to play. Mason would extend the lead to as much as 62-52 before Tech would take off on a 9-0 run to bring the game within one with just over three minutes remaining. The Patriots would never relinquish the lead, as Brown and freshman Tayler Dodson would hit a combined eight free throws in the last three minutes of play to secure the opening day win.

The women's team returns to the court Sunday at 3:30 p.m. when they host Morehead State following the men's game against Princeton.