WHO: Women's Basketball vs. Saint Louis
WHERE: EagleBank Arena - Fairfax, Va.
FINAL SCORE: SLU 61, George Mason 50
RECORDS: SLU (17-4, 7-1 A-10); Mason (8-13, 3-5 A-10)
KEY PLAYERS: Kara Wright 13 points; Taylor Brown 11 points
BOX SCORE (HTML)
FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team was not able to stir up the same recipe in order to knock off a hot Saint Louis team for the second time this season.
Despite hanging tight for most of the game, the Patriots couldn't overcome a cold shooting night in a 61-50 loss to the Billikens on Thursday night at EagleBank Arena.
A quick burst out of halftime that gave the Patriots a one-point lead proved to be short-lived. The Billikens, winners of seven straight, responded with nine straight points and controlled the game from there. Mason, which defeated SLU four weeks before on the road, shot just 30.4 percent from the field in the second half and finished with its fewest points of the season.
“Our second-half offensive struggles continue to hurt us,” head coach Nyla Milleson said. “We held a very good team to well under their average and had good defensive intensity most of the game. We must find better offensive flow for 40 minutes.”
SLU (17-4, 7-1 Atlantic 10) hasn't lost since suffering an overtime setback to Mason on Jan. 2. The Billikens entered the game averaging 71.8 points a game – third-most in the conference. But the Patriots (8-13, 3-5) clamped down defensively to once again make it tough for SLU, which shot just 38 percent from the field.
Behind just three at halftime, Mason quickly surged out of the break. Taylor Brown made two free throws and Tiffany Padgett sunk a jumper to push the Patriots in front 30-29 with 8:24 left in the third quarter. But Jenny Vliet sunk two straight 3-pointers, the second after she grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive, for six of her eight points in a 9-0 run by the Billikens.
A 3-pointer by Jewel Triggs and a layup by fellow freshman Chinyere Bell pulled Mason within three points. The Patriots, however, wouldn't get any closer as they scored just three points over the next five minutes. SLU took advantage, extending its advantage to an insurmountable 10 points. Both times the Patriots cut the gap to seven points, the Billikens answered with a 3-pointer – two of six they made on the night.
Kara Wright led Mason with 13 points. The redshirt junior has scored in double figures in all eight conference games, averaging 13.3 points in that span. Brown added 11 points and Bridget O'Donnell hauled in a career-high seven rebounds.
The Patriots don't have much time to regroup, jumping back on the court against Massachusetts at 2 p.m. on Saturday at EagleBank Arena.
