FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team added a new chapter to its postseason exploits while graduate student Natalie Butler made history.

Butler became the NCAA Division I women's basketball single-season rebounding leader and freshman Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Patriots to a 82-75 victory over Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the WNIT on Friday night at EagleBank Arena.

Mason (24-9) recorded their first postseason victory in program history as the Patriots participated in just their third postseason game and first since the 2004 WNIT. Butler, a graduate student from Fairfax Station, Va., grabbed her 540th rebound of the season at the end of the third quarter for the most in a season by a Division I women's basketball player.

Mason now advances to play Virginia Tech at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Blacksburg, Va., in the second round of the WNIT. The Hokies defeated Navy 56-55 on a game-winning jumper with 1.4 seconds left.

"Live to play another day. Great opportunity for this team and our program," head coach Nyla Milleson said. "You're always a little concerned having 14 days off in between games, but we continued to practice hard but it was just hard because we didn't even know if we were going to get the chance to play. … I thought we came out with great focus, great energy. They're a great basketball team, and the scouting report did say they shoot and make a lot of threes but they also get to the free throw line a lot and we knew we had to neutralize something. I think Natalie's presence inside helped, and limiting them to only nine free throws, even though they had 17 3-pointers made, we were able to take something away. Great team win for us and we live to play another day."

Butler eclipsed the mark of 539 set in 2006 by former Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris. Butler finished with 20 points and 22 rebounds for her 32nd straight double-double, which is the second-longest streak in a season (behind only Paris' 33 in 2006-07).

"It was crazy," said Butler, who raised her arms and smiled after grabbing the record-breaking rebound at the end of the third quarter. "I don't think anyone knew about it, so I ran off the court and they were like 'We got one more quarter to play Nat.' And I was like, 'I know, I know. It was just a big rebound.' But what Courtney Parris did, she was the record holder before, playing in the Big 12, playing at Oklahoma, I mean it is incredible what she accomplished. Just to be mentioned in the same category as her is fantastic and humbling for me. She was a beast, she was a beast at Oklahoma so I really appreciate what she has done through her collegiate career. …It's incredible. This doesn't happen often, so I am very grateful for Coach Milleson and the opportunities she has given me."

Cardano-Hillary scored a career-high 28 points as she made four 3-pointers and was a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line. The Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year also dished out six assists and collected three steals.

Her 3-pointer from the left wing with 23 seconds to go in the third quarter pushed the Patriots in front for good and sparked a game-changing 17-0 run. The Patriots scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter and held the Ladyjacks (25-7) scoreless for more than six minutes.

Cardano-Hillary scored 10 points during the run and her jumper with 6:29 left gave Mason a commanding 73-57 lead. The Patriots maintained a double digit lead until the final minute, fending off a Stephen F. Austin squad that finished second in the Southland Conference and reached its conference tournament championship game.

The Patriots, who scored the first 10 points of the game and led for more than 36 minutes, shot 50 percent from the field. But 24 turnovers allowed Stephen F. Austin to stay close. The Ladyjacks also made 17 3-pointers, the most ever by an opponent at EagleBank Arena.

Chanell Hayes made six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points for SFA. Imani Johnson also added 14 points.

Senior Tayler Dodson, playing in her school-record 123rd game, scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. The Patriots won the rebounding battle 45-30 and scored 32 points in the paint. They also shot 22 of 28 from the free-throw line while limiting the Ladyjacks' trips to the line (6 of 9).