WHO: Women's Basketball at Virginia Tech
WHERE: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Virginia Tech 80, Mason 63
KEY PLAYERS: Chinyere Bell and Kara Wright – 13 points
| |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
TOTAL
|
|
Virginia Tech (2-0)
|
22
|
10
|
29
|
19
|
80
|
|
George Mason (0-2)
|
12
|
17
|
14
|
20
|
63
|
Blacksburg, Va. – Despite coming within three just before halftime, George Mason University's women's basketball team could not find response to Virginia Tech's effective shooting from long range in the second half and dropped the non-conference game against the Hokies 80-63 on Sunday night.
GAME NOTES
Two newcomers – redshirt junior guard Kara Wright and freshman forward Chinyere Bell – led Mason with 13 points each on a quiet night for leading scorer Taylor Brown.
Sophomore Vanessa Panousis hit six three-pointers to lead her team with 18 points, while Sydney Cook and Chanette Hicks added 13 and 12, respectively.
-Bell got Mason's first point from the free-throw line with 6:45 left in the opening quarter, before which Virginia Tech had gone on a 5-0 run.
-The Hokies' early dominance continued and the Patriots' head coach Nyla Milleson called a timeout midway through the first quarter with her team trailing 12-1.
-Right after the timeout, a well-orchestrated Mason attack was finished for a two-point field goal by Bell, but it followed two Hokie three-pointers to increase the lead to 18-3.
-The Patriots finished the quarter on a high note, however, when redshirt junior Wright hit a three-pointer with two seconds left on game clock to bring the lead down to 10 at 22-12.
-Mason's first six points of the second quarter came from the charity stripe through Bell (three), redshirt senior Kristi Mokube (two) and redshirt junior forward Tayler Dodson (one), but during the same time Virginia Tech managed to extend their lead to 29-18 before the media timeout.
-The Patriots' leading scorer Brown got her first points of the game with a three-pointer to bring the deficit back to a single digit, 30-21, with less than three minutes left in the second quarter.
-Mason's second-quarter surge continued with consecutive three-pointers from Wright and freshman guard Jewel Triggs that cut Virginia Tech's lead to three at halftime, 32-29, while improved defense from the Patriots allowed their opponent to score only two points in the final 5:32 minutes of the half.
-Senior guard Reana Mohamed got Mason's only point in the first 3:10 minutes of the third quarter while the Hokies had eight – including two three-pointers – before coach Milleson called a timeout with her team trailing 40-30.
-Virginia Tech continued to score primarily from behind the three-point line, while Mason attacked in the paint, leading to the Hokies' lead growing to 13 at 49-36 at the media timeout.
-A fast-break layup by Virginia Tech's Hicks with 2:21 left to play in the third quarter tied the Hokies' highest lead of the game at 56-41.
-The ACC member had the last five points of the third quarter to enter the final 10 minutes with a 61-43 lead.
-The Hokies' three-point shooting continued to cause damage in the final quarter and helped the team gain a 30-point lead with just over three minutes to play in the game.
-Redshirt junior guard Katrina Hutzell scored five of Mason 13 straight points to end the contest with a final score of 80-63.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason shot 18-44 from the field, including a better 12-25 second half, but this was not enough to counter Virginia Tech's 19-33 shooting after half-time, including 9-14 from beyond the arc.
-The Patriots outrebounded the Hokies 34-29.
-Virginia Tech capitalized on Mason's 21 turnovers to score 29 points off them, nearly doubling the Patriots' 15 points in that compartment.
-Despite the loss, Mason showed depth and recorded 47 bench points, compared to Virginia Tech's 26.
POST-GAME QUOTES
"Even through losses, we have shown great growth over the last 48 hours. This team will continue to mature as we get game experience.It's about the daily process. We are excited to get to play in the EagleBank Arenafor our hom opener on Tuesday." - Mason's head coach Nyla Milleson
NEXT ON THE COURT
-Mason will play its first home game at the newly renamed EagleBank Arena when it welcomes Towson on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
