PHILADELPHIA – The George Mason women's basketball team's huge fourth-quarter comeback was derailed by a last-second shot.
La Salle's Amy Griffin sunk a turnaround jumper with .7 seconds left to hand the Patriots a 59-57 loss on Saturday at Tom Gola Arena. Mason freshman
Alexsis Grate nearly won the game with a miraculous shot but her 50-foot heave rimmed out at the buzzer.
The Patriots (11-12, 4-6 A-10) rallied back from a 12-point, fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game twice. Senior
Kara Wright scored all 25 of her points in the second half and led a 16-4 run that tied the game on
Tiffany Padgett's free throw with 1:39 left.
Griffin pushed the Explorers back in front, 57-55, with two free throws with 29 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Mason got the ball in the hands of Wright, who drove the lane and banked in a jumper to tie the game again with 23 seconds to go. That forced a final timeout by La Salle (13-8, 6-3), which wound down the clock before finding Griffin for the game-winner to win its fourth straight.
La Salle led 51-39 with 6:19 remaining before the Patriots roared back. Padgett started the spurt with a jumper and then Wright delivered consecutive "and-one" plays. She drained a jumper, drew a foul and made the free throw and then did the same on the next possession.
But this time she drilled the team's first 3-pointer of the game and drew contact, making the free throw for a rare 4-point play to pull the Patriots within three with 4:56 to go. Wright made two more baskets and Grate and Padgett combined for three free throws to tie the game with less than two minutes to go.
Wright, who entered averaging 15.2 points a game, missed her first six shots of the game and was scoreless in the first half. But the 5-foot-11 guard took over in the second half, scoring 12 of the team's 14 points in the third quarter. She was also a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. Padgett came off the bench to score 12 points and grab seven rebounds.
Mason fell behind in the first quarter as it shot just 23.1 percent (3-for-13) in the opening period. The Patriots were outrebounded 41-34 and La Salle grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. Griffin, who averaged a conference-best 20 points a game, finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for La Salle.
The Patriots now have a bye week before looking to snap their two-game losing streak next week when they travel to Duquesne on Sunday in Pittsburgh. The game will be televised nationally on American Sports Network at 3 p.m.
