George Mason women's basketball team improved to 6-4 on the season after a 69-57 win over Winthrop (5-4) to open the Wichita State Shocker Classic Friday night at the Charles Koch Arena.
Three Patriots registered double-figures on the night, led by redshirt junior Kristi Mokube with her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Classmate Taylor Brown led all scorers with 26 points while fellow redshirt junior Jasmine Jackson added 15. However, it was the defensive effort that impressed head coach Nyla Milleson in Mason's first game in nearly two weeks.
“I was really proud of our defensive and rebounding effort today,” Milleson said. “It's always tough coming back after finals week…I thought we played well together and did a lot of really good things to build on for our final non-conference games.”
As a team, the Patriots outrebounded the Eagles 48-38, bringing down 16 offensive boards for 14 second chance points. Mason also cashed in 24 points off 15 Winthrop turnovers while allowing the Eagles just eight points off Mason's 12 turnovers.
“We're trying to change some things up defensively and we had some time over the break,” Milleson said. “I'm really seeing some improvement and part of that is on the boards and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Freshman Tayler Dodson hit a three in the first minute of play to give the Patriots a lead they would never relinquish. The Patriots turned the ball over six times in the first half, but did not allow the Eagles to capitalize while Mason cashed in 17 points off 11 Winthrop turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play. Dodson would end the half with seven points as the Patriots led 31-25 at the break.
Mason extended their lead even further to start the second half, holding the Eagles without a field goal for the first four minutes and 50 seconds. After a quiet first half, Jackson scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half while Mokube registered 10 of her 14 in the final 20 minutes of play.
The Patriots have a quick turnover facing LA-Monroe Saturday at 1:05 on day two of the Shocker Classic before heading back to Virginia to play at Longwood Monday at 7 p.m.
“Quick turnaround, but that's why we have a great staff,” Milleson said. “We have our athletic trainer, Emily, and our strength coach, John, with us and our kids understand the importance of taking care of their bodies. We're excited to get back on the floor”
