WASHINGTON – A poor shooting night doomed the George Mason women's basketball team in a tough loss to a crosstown rival.

The Patriots suffered a 73-59 loss to Howard on Wednesday night at Burr Gymnasium. Sophomore guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored 18 of her team-high 20 points in the second half and junior Jacy Bolton added 10 points.

Mason shot a season-low 31.9 percent from the field and were held under 60 points for just the second time this season. The Patriots (4-3) trailed most of the game, with Howard leading by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter.

Mason shot just 17.6 percent from the field in the second quarter and were held scoreless for nearly six minutes but trailed by just five at halftime. After falling behind by 10 twice in the third period, the Patriots showed some resiliency and pulled within two thanks to an 8-0 run. Cardano-Hillary, who scored 14 points in the third quarter, sank a 3-pointer and then converted a layup in transition to cut the lead to 44-42 with 4:15 to go.

But that was as close as the Patriots would get. The Bison (4-2) ended the quarter on an 11-4 run to take a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter. They scored the first five points of the final period and led by more than 10 points the rest of the way. 

Howard shot 46.8 percent from the field and outrebounded the Patriots 50-35. The Bison had three players score in double figures, led by a career-high 26 from Krislyn Marsh. She shot 12 of 18 from the field and also had 14 rebounds for a double-double.  

Sophomore Marika Korpinen made her second straight start and scored all nine of her points in the second half. Junior Allie McCool added eight points and tied a career high with six rebounds off the bench. Camarie Gatling, also making her second straight start, had seven points and seven rebounds.

The Patriots will try to bounce back as they cap off a string of four straight road games against the University of Washington at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Seattle.