FAIRFAX, Va. – After three quarters, the George Mason women's basketball team looked poised to close out its second straight win.

But a five-minute lapse to open the final period proved costly in a 70-58 loss to Richmond on Sunday at EagleBank Arena. Despite a career-high 20 points from senior Tiffany Padgett, the Patriots (12-14, 5-8 Atlantic 10) missed a chance to sweep the season series from the Spiders and lost their fourth out of the last five games.

Richmond (12-14, 6-7) rallied with a monstrous 16-1 run that turned a four-point deficit into an 11-point lead. The Patriots went quiet in the fourth quarter, scoring just 11 points on 33.3 percent shooting (4-of-12) and getting outrebounded 11-3 in the final stanza.

"We played three pretty good quarters and then we just fell apart in the fourth," Mason head coach Nyla Milleson said. "Not sure I have any answers right now. Their zone really took us out of what we're doing. We got stagnant. We didn't stay at the boards. They are not a real strong rebounding team and we got outrebounded. Very, very disappointed. We didn't guard very well in the fourth quarter. At the end of the day, you've got to make shots. This team has just not proved consistently that we can put the ball in the hole. And that has been our Achilles heel all year long."

The Patriots, who led by as many as nine points in the second quarter, took a 47-43 lead on freshman Jacy Bolton's offensive putback with 1:09 left in the quarter. Mason then scored just one point over the next five minutes.

Richmond's Kylie Murphee sunk a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in the third period to spark the run. The Spiders then opened the fourth period by making five of their first seven shots. Jaide Hinds-Clarke scored six straight to begin the quarter. Micaela Parson converted a 3-point play to cap off the run and give Richmond its largest lead of the game, 59-48, with 6:02 to go in the game.

On the flip side, the Patriots had five empty possessions to start the fourth stanza, with three missed shots and two turnovers. Richmond extended the lead to as many as 13 before Mason went on a 8-2 run to close the gap to 66-58 on Alexsis Grate's 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining.

The Spiders committed a turnover on the next possession but Mason couldn't take advantage, missing a 3-pointer. Richmond sank two free throws on the next possession for an insurmountable nine-point lead with 51 seconds left.

Mason shot 37.3 percent for the game and was outrebounded 37-35. The Patriots tied a season low with just nine turnovers for the second straight game. But they committed six after halftime and Richmond took advantage, finishing with 15 points off turnovers.

Padgett, making her second straight start, scored 16 of her career-high 20 points in the first half. She was 8-of-15 from the field and tied a career high with three 3-pointers. She just missed notching a double-double, finishing with nine rebounds. Bolton added 12 points and Grate had eight.

The Patriots wrap up a three-game homestand and close out their home schedule against Rhode Island at 7 p.m. Wednesday at EagleBank Arena. Mason will honor Padgett, Kara Wright, Sylvia Maxwell and Bridget O'Donnell before the game for senior night.