WHO: Women's Basketball vs Tulsa @ The Lady Rebel Round-Up
WHERE: Cox Pavillion, Las Vegas, Nev.
FINAL SCORE: Mason 64, Tulsa 63
KEY PLAYERS: Taylor Brown – 21 points; Kristi Mokube and Tayler Dodson – 9 points, 3 offensive rebounds
| |
1st
|
2nd
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3rd
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4th
|
TOTAL
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|
George Mason (3-5)
|
18
|
15
|
13
|
18
|
64
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|
Tulsa (1-5)
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9
|
21
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12
|
21
|
63
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Las Vegas, Nev. – Redshirt senior guard Taylor Brown capped a season-high, 21-point performance with a game-winning basket to grant George Mason University's women's basketball team with a 64-63 win against Tulsa and the third place in The Lady Rebel Round-Up.
GAME NOTES
-Brown was the only player in double digits, but seven other Patriots added at least 3 points to contribute for the win, including two players with 9 – redshirt senior and sophomore forwards Kristi Mokube and Tayler Dodson.
-Tulsa were led in scoring by seniors Kelsee Grovey with 16 points (4-9 3-point shooting), and Ashley Clark with 15.
-Brown started the game drastically different than the one against UNLV yesterday and hit her first two field goal attempts to help her team to an early 6-3 lead.
-Mason's good perimeter defense in the opening quarter forced the Golden Hurricanes to try their luck mainly from beyond the 3-point line with a small percentage of those shots finding the mark. At the other end, a 3-pointer from freshman Jewel Triggs and two jumpers from redshirt junior Bridgett O'Donnell helped the Patriots end the quarter on a 7-0 run to increase their lead to 18-9.
-A three-point play by Tulsa's freshman Crystal Polk decreased Mason's lead to six in the second quarter at 23-17, but Brown responded with a 3-pointer right away. Shortly after, Mokube gave Mason its first double-digit lead at 28-17 with a layup.
-Tulsa went into the bonus halfway through the second quarter and used several trips to the free-throw line to aid an 11-0 run that tied the game at 28-all before Brown's second 3-pointer in the game ended a five-minute scoring drought for the Patriots.
-Two converted free throws by Brown increased Mason's lead to five in the final seconds before halftime, but the Golden Hurricanes had the final word in the half and a layup by Clark made the scoreline read 33-30 Mason as the teams went into halftime.
-The Golden Hurricanes had the opportunity to take the lead early in the third quarter, but a missed layup by junior Teanna Reid was punished with consecutive field goals by redshirt junior Tiffany Padgett at the other end to make the Patriots' lead five points, 37-32.
-Tulsa tied the game with just over a minute left in the third quarter, but a long 2-point jumper from Brown and a layup from freshman Chinyere Bell for her first points in the contest closed the third quarter with the Patriots leading 46-42.
-Two 3-pointers by Tulsa's senior Kelsee Grovey early in the fourth quarter gave the Golden Hurricanes their first of four two-point leads at 50-48 before the two teams entered the last 3:41 all square at 57.
-Sophomore Tayler Dodson made big offensive plays in the final two minutes, first grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring a layup to bring the Patriots back on even terms at 59 and soon after completing a three-point play to give the team a 62-61 lead.
-The Patriots were in a tough situation within the last minute when they surrendered possession with Tulsa leading 63-62, but perfect tactical execution in the final moments led to Brown's game winner and an excellent inbounding pass by Dodson which allowed Mason to run out the remaining four seconds on the clock and finish their extensive road trip with a win.
STAT BREAKDOWN
-Mason's offense was significantly more effective than yesterday and the Patriots shot 13-28 from the floor in each halves for 46.4% overall shooting; Tulsa made fewer shots (23) on more attempts (65) to shoot 35.4% overall.
-Although the Golden Hurricanes had 13 offensive rebounds compared to the Patriots' 9, Mason outscored Tulsa 9-8 in second-chance points while also winning the overall rebounding battle 38-35.
-Tulsa recorded 13 steals in the game to force a total of 16 Mason turnovers, off which the Golden Hurricanes scored 16 points; in comparison, the Patriots converted only 8 points off their opponent's 12 turnovers.
POST-GAME QUOTE
“It was a great team win for us today. We had people really step in to contribute in big ways. Our ball movement and shot selection was much better. We have grown through this road trip and are very excited to get three straight games at the EagleBank Arena.” – Mason's head coach Nyla Milleson
NEXT ON THE COURT
After 11 days and five games on the road, Mason finally returns home to continue its condensed schedule prior to the end of the semester and hosts Georgetown at the EagleBank Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
