FAIRFAX, Va. – Staring at its largest deficit of the season, the George Mason women's basketball team made sure 2017 didn't end on a sour note.  

The Patriots overcame a 21-point, first-half deficit as graduate student Natalie Butler tied an Atlantic 10 record with 28 rebounds and scored a game-high 19 points in a 74-61 victory over Davidson in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams on Sunday at EagleBank Arena.

Mason (12-3, 1-0 Atlantic 10) allowed Davidson to score just 16 points after halftime as the Patriots improved to 4-1 in A-10 openers.

Butler, a 6-foot-5 center from Fairfax Station, Va., posted her 14th straight double-double, which leads the country. Her 28 rebounds eclipsed the single-game school record of 27 set by Erin Cloyd on Dec. 7, 1977. Butler also tied the Atlantic 10 record set on Jan. 26, 1985 by Temple's Olivia Bradley. Butler's previous career-high was 21 rebounds during her freshman year at Georgetown in 2013-14.

Freshman Nicole Cardano-Hillary scored 18 points, sophomore Jacy Bolton added 14 and fellow sophomore Sarah Kaminski chipped in 12. The Patriots extended their school-record home winning streak to 11 games. They're 10-0 at EagleBank Arena this season, marking just the sixth 10-plus win season in the 33-year history of the arena.

Mason, winners of six of seven, trailed by 21 late in the first half but the Patriots came alive after the break. They started the period on an 18-2 run to close within three points midway through the period. Mason kept the pressure on and took its first lead of the game on a three-point play by Butler with 49 seconds left in the third quarter.

Davidson (5-9, 0-1) regained the lead by the end of the period but momentum had swung the Patriots' way. Cardano-Hillary made back-to-back jumpers to give the Patriots the lead for good with 6:24 remaining. Mason pulled away from there, ending the game on a 20-4 run.

The Wildcats shot 50 percent from the field in the opening quarter and a staggering 54 percent from 3-point range (7-of-13) in the first half. They pushed their lead to 43-32 with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter.

But they went 0-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc in the second half and shot just 22.5 percent from the field after intermission. The Patriots, conversely, gained the hot hand. They shot 50 percent in the second half, including a 60-percent clip (6-of-10) over the final quarter. It was a stark contrast from a first half in which they shot 30.3 percent.

They outscored the Wildcats 36-14 in the paint and won the rebounding edge mightily, 54-36. They also dished out 17 assists on 25 made baskets. Bolton had five assists and six rebounds in addition to her 14 points. Kaminski also added seven rebounds and Cardano-Hillary had five steals and four assists.

The Patriots now hit the road to play La Salle at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in their A-10 road opener.