WHO: Women's Basketball vs Towson
WHERE: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 88, Towson 76
KEY PLAYERS: Kristi Mokube – 22 points (career-high), 7 rebounds; Taylor Brown – 17 points
| |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
TOTAL
|
|
George Mason (1-2)
|
21
|
10
|
26
|
31
|
88
|
|
Towson (0-2)
|
17
|
19
|
11
|
29
|
76
|
Fairfax, Va. – Redshirt senior forward Kristi Mokube needed less than three quarters to reach a new career-high performance in scoring as she led George Mason University's women's basketball team with 22 points and seven rebounds in the home-opening win against Towson on Tuesday night.
GAME NOTES
-Redshirt senior guard Taylor Brown got back on track and recorded 17 points for the win while freshman guard Jewel Triggs had her first double-digit scoring night in her young career with 11 points; both had four rebounds in the game.
-Junior guard Raven Bankston led the Tigers with game-high 31 points while freshman Sianni Martin (17 points) and senior Dominique Johnson had (10 points) also recorded double digits for Towson; sophomore Daijha Thomas had game-high nine rebounds.
-Redshirt junior forward Tiffany Padgett scored the opening four points for Mason with a layup and a pair of free throws to cancel Towson's 3-0 run in the beginning of the first quarter.
-Later, the Patriots completed consecutive three-point plays through Mokube and redshirt junior guard Kara Wright for a two-point lead, 11-9.
-The lead grew to six at 21-15, forcing a Towson timeout with just over a minute left on the clock. The Tigers responded with a two-point field goal from junior Brianna Bush to finalize the scoring in the first quarter.
-Towson started the second quarter with a 9-2 run, which was ended with a jumper by redshirt junior center Bridget O'Donnell, who recorded her first two points in the game.
-Junior Raven Bankston converted a free throw to give the Tigers their largest lead at 33-25 in the second quarter.
-Brown made her way in the paint to end Mason's four-minute field goal drought with a layup, reducing the Tigers' lead to four at 33-29.
-The Patriots came even closer – within two – on a pair of free throws by Mokube, but a three-pointer by Towson's sophomore Breonn Hughey assured that the Tigers take a five-point lead at halftime, 36-31.
-Mason started the second half strong and scored six consecutive points allowed the Patriots to quickly eliminate the deficit and regain the lead at 39-38.
-The Patriots went on to hold Towson to four field goals in the third quarter and outscore the Tigers 26-15 in the period to go into the final quarter with a 57-47 lead.
-Even though the lead decreased to as little as eight points on a 5-0 run by Towson in the fourth quarter, the Patriots remained in control and comfortably won the contest 88-76 for their first win of the season.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason had its best offensive performance in the young season, shooting 30-67 from the field, including 19-30 for the comeback in the second half, while Towson finished the game 28-64.
-The Patriots were nearly perfect from the free-throw line, making 25 from their 26 shots (96.2%), compared to the Tigers' 15 from 22 balance from the charity stripe.
-Seventeen offensive rebounds helped Mason record 21 second-chance points, while Towson's 13 led to only 8 points; overall, the Patriots outrebounded their opponent 44-33.
Head coach Nyla Milleson's bench had another good night and was responsible for 44 of Mason's points, while the Tigers' bench provided 39.
POST-GAME QUOTES
"Great team win tonight. The first half was a struggle but we stuck together and continued to play hard. The shots started falling as we shared the ball extremely well. I am proud of our basketball team. " - Mason's head coach Nyla Milleson
NEXT ON THE COURT
-Mason will try to carry the momentum away from home when it opens a five-game road trip Friday at Utah. After that game, which is at 9 p.m., the Patriots will participate in the 2015 CGI Great Alaska Shootout and The Lady Rebel Round-Up in Las Vegas, Nev.
