FAIRFAX, Va. - In front of a boisterous crowd, the George Mason women's basketball team defended its home court to make history.
The Patriots used a strong second half to blow by Longwood in a 60-41 victory on Thursday night at EagleBank Arena in the non-conference finale. Mason (11-3) extended its home winning streak to 10 games for its longest in program history.
The current streak spans back to the final home game of the last season. The Patriots also set a school record for most consecutive home wins in one season as they're off to a 9-0 start at EagleBank Arena this year. That surpassed an eight-game home winning streak for the 1988-89 team.
Mason also picked up its 11th non-conference win for its most wins out of conference since the 1987-88 season.
Freshman Nicole Carda
ño-Hillary led all scorers with 14 points. Graduate student
Natalie Butler posted her nation-leading 13th straight double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman
Marika Korpinen scored a personal-best eight points and dished out a career-high nine assists off the bench in 22 minutes.
The Patriots, winners of five of six, scored 11 of the game's first 13 points to build a nine-point lead but quickly cooled off. They went scoreless for eight minutes during the first and second periods (shooting just 23.4 percent in the opening quarter). The Lancers (2-8) took advantage, jumping in front 15-11 with 8:14 to go in the first half. Mason responded with a 17-2 run, sparked by four straight points from Butler. The spurt was capped off with a 3-pointer and jumper by Korpinen for a 28-20 lead with 1:01 to go.
Longwood hung around though, hitting 3-pointers at the buzzer of the first half and on the first possession of the second half to pull within two. After a timeout with 8:01 left in the third quarter, the Patriots woke up. They used a 27-3 run over a 11-minute span in the third and fourth quarters to pull away. Mason shot 50 percent (8-of-16) in the third quarter.
For the game, the Patriots had 21 assists on 25 made field goals. They also outrebounded Longwood 48-37 and had six players score off the bench for 27 points.
The Patriots now turn to Atlantic 10 Conference play as they open up league action against Davidson at 2 p.m. on Sunday at EagleBank Arena for New Year's Eve matchup.
