George Mason women's basketball got its first true road win Saturday with a 86-77 decision at Saint Francis, out-rebounding the Red Flash 60-38.
“I thought it was a really, really good team effort tonight,” head coach Nyla Milleson said. “I thought we played with each other and for each other and it made a big difference.”
Freshman Qierra Murray hit a three less than two minutes into play to give the Patriots a lead they would never relinquish. The Patriots would lead by as much as 18 in the first half and head into the break with a 47-34 lead behind 16 first-half points from Sandra Ngoie. The senior would end the night with nine rebounds and a team-high 21 on five threes and 70 (7-10) percent shooting from the field.
“Sandra is not 100 percent healthy, so we've got to manage that, but she was more aggressive tonight,” Milleson said. “She came off the bench, I think that helped her a little bit. But the most important thing tonight was we played as a team.”
Saint Francis made things interesting late in the game getting within three with just over a minute and a half to play. However, the Patriots got three straight stops and hit six free throws with just over 30 seconds to play to secure the win.
“We got three big stops in a row late in the game to win it, which we weren't able to do in a few previous chances,” Milleson said.
Redshirt junior Jasmine Jackson added 19 points and two steals and despite playing just six minutes in the first half, Taylor Brown snagged nine rebounds and added 19 points to the effort, with 17 coming in the second half. With Brown playing limited minutes in the first half, freshman Cydni Cole stepped up dishing out four assists in the first half, a career-high.
“Our freshman are playing big,” Milleson said. “I think the most important thing about our freshman right now is that they are playing consistent. I have been really tough on a few of our returners, but when they perform well, we're a really good basketball team.”
Mason has a two week break for finals before heading to the Wichita State to take on Winthrop on December 19 followed by Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 20.
