WHAT: Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship - Quarterfinals
WHO: No. 9 seed George Mason vs. No. 1 seed George Washington
WHERE: Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Va.
FINAL SCORE: George Washington 78, Mason 48
RECORDS: Mason (12-19); GW (24-6)
KEY PLAYERS: Kara Wright 12 points, six rebounds, blocks; Kristi Mokube 12 points, six rebounds

BOX SCORE (HTML)

RICHMOND, Va. – Any chances of a March run by the George Mason women's basketball team were upended by a familiar crosstown foe.

For the third time this season, George Washington handed the Patriots' a loss, this time a 78-48 setback to end Mason's season in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship on Friday at the Richmond Coliseum.

Kara Wright and Kristi Mokube each had 12 points and six rebounds but the No. 9 seeded Patriots couldn't slow down No. 1 seed and defending tournament champ GW. The Colonials (24-6) jumped in front for good less than three minutes and never looked back, leading by 15 at halftime.

The Patriots cut the deficit to nine in the second half but suffered two long scoring droughts they couldn't overcome. Mason finished the season with a 12-19 record after reaching the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament for the first time in program history.

“(George Washington) is a very elite program and you add the addition of (Jonquel Jones) back into that and they are one of the best teams in the country in my opinion. A lot of credit to them,” head coach Nyla Milleson said. “I'm extremely proud of our basketball team to continue to play today. A very good basketball team we ran up against. I thought we played hard but very difficult when shots aren't going and they are shooting at the percentage they were shooting. But the growth in the program the last three years has been unbelievable. I'm extremely excited about what lies ahead of us.”

Four players scored in double figures for GW as Caira Washington led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds. But the Colonials received a boost from All-American Jonquel Jones, who was playing in her first game since suffering a shoulder injury on Jan. 20. She came off the bench to notch 11 points and nine rebounds in just 13 minutes.

Despite GW's depth and size, the Patriots kept the game close through most of the first half and into the third quarter. Wright scored all 12 of her points in the first half and Mason trailed just 17-12 late in the first quarter. But as they would do at the end of each of the first three quarters, the Colonials made a shot in the final five seconds.

That boosted GW into the second quarter, starting the period on a 9-2 run to take a 28-14 lead. Mason again showed fight, cutting the deficit to 32-23 on a 3-pointer by freshman Jewel Triggs with 3:29 left in the first half. But the Colonials answered with an 8-2 run and a layup at the end of the first half to take a 40-25 halftime lead.

The Patriots battled back in the third quarter, jumping out of the locker room and slicing the GW lead to nine again, this time on a long-range 3-pointer by Brown with 5:14 left in the period. That would be as close as Mason would get, though. The Patriots scored just two points over the next 12 minutes, allowing GW to go on a game-sealing 24-2 run.

It was the last collegiate game for seniors Reana Mohamed, Brown and Mokube. Brown ends her career as one of the more decorated players in program history. The three-time All-Atlantic 10 point guard finished her career second at Mason in all-time scoring with 1,693 points. Brown, who played just three years with the Patriots, is the first player in program history with at least 1,500 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists.

“In three years, she has really, really left an imprint on this program,” Milleson said. “She is going out as one of the best to ever put the uniform on at George Mason.”