LAWRENCE, Kan. – The George Mason women's basketball team ran into a buzzsaw on the first leg of its Midwestern trip.

The Patriots fell behind early and couldn't catch up in a 77-56 loss to hot shooting Kansas on Wednesday night at historic Allen Fieldhouse.

Sophomore guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary led Mason with 17 points. Junior Allie McCool came off the bench to score a season-high nine points, making all four shots she attempted. Sophomore Alexsis Grate also scored nine points.

The Jayhawks shot 56.6 percent from the field in the first half and finished with a season-high in points. Kansas (4-0) jumped out to an 11-0 lead and made its first six shots. Senior Jessica Washington drained three 3-pointers in the opening minute to set the tone and finished with a season-high 30 points in just her second game back since missing all of last season due to a knee injury.

The Patriots (3-2) pulled within nine twice in the first quarter but wouldn't get any closer. Mason scored just eight points in the second quarter, including only four over the last seven-plus minutes, as KU took a 51-21 lead into halftime.

The Patriots showed some resiliency in the second half. After trailing by as many as 35, the Patriots outscored the Jayhawks 35-26 after halftime. Mason shot 60 percent from the field in the third period and held KU to just six points in the final quarter.

Mason won the rebounding battle 46-31 and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, which it turned into 14 second-chance points. The Patriots, however, struggled with turnovers again, committing a season-high 24 miscues. KU scored 30 points off turnovers. The Patriots entered the game averaging 19 turnovers a game.

Junior captain Jacy Bolton played in front of a huge crowd of over more than 100 family and friends from her hometown of Drexel, Mo., located just 70 miles southeast of Lawrence. She finished with four points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Mason looks to bounce back against UMKC at 2 p.m. on Friday in Kansas City, Mo.