FAIRFAX, Va. - In a matchup that came down to the wire, the George Mason women's basketball team came up short against St. Bonaventure on Thursday night in its Atlantic 10 home opener.
The Patriots suffered a tough 68-57 loss at EagleBank Arena after being outscored by the Bonnies 32-12 in the fourth quarter. Sophomore guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored a game-high 27 points but it wasn't enough as Mason let a 14-point second-half lead slip away.
"Extremely, extremely, extremely, disappointing loss and fourth-quarter defensive effort after I thought we maybe played three of our best defensive quarters we've played all year," Mason head coach Nyla Milleson said. "This is the second game in a row we've had the lead going into the fourth quarter. So this is on me that we have to find a way to get corrected. I don't have answers tonight, but we'll have answers at 10 o'clock (Friday morning)."
Mason took a 45-36 lead into the final quarter when senior Jewel Triggs knocked down a putback layup as time expired in the third quarter. The Patriots (8-7, 0-2 Atlantic 10) led by eight with less than eight minutes remaining. But St. Bonaventure responded with a 16-4 run fueled by seven points from freshman Asianae Johnson. St. Bonaventure went on a hot streak, taking the lead from Mason with 3:33 left in regulation on Danielle Milgore's layup.
The Patriots shot 35.5 percent in the fourth quarter and scored just four points in the last four minutes, giving the Bonnies (4-11, 1-1) room to make a comeback. The Bonnies also shot 66.7 percent in the final period. The loss snapped the Patriots' four-game winning streak over the Bonnies, who have now won three of eight meetings in the all-time series.
Cardaño-Hillary scored more than 20 points for the eighth time this season, scoring 17 points after halftime. She moved up to 26th on Mason's all-time scoring list with 908 career points. She also added five assists and four rebounds.
At the end of the first quarter, the Patriots trailed the Bonnies by one. St. Bonaventure expanded its lead to 18-12 early in the second quarter. The Patriots continued to battle back, as Cardaño-Hillary added eight points in the quarter.
It wasn't until a 3-pointer from Sarah Kaminski with 2:54 left to play in the first half that the Patriots would regain the lead (24-21). From there, the Patriots made key passes, contributing to a six-point lead at the end the half.
At the start of the third quarter, Mason broke away from St. Bonaventure going on a 14-0 run. A 3-pointer by junior Alexsis Grate early in the second half pushed Mason's advantage to 37-23 with 7:32 left in the quarter. While the Bonnies made strides to inch closer to the Patriots, the Patriots' rebounding efforts helped them to maintain the lead throughout the third. In the third quarter, Mason had 15 rebounds over St. Bonaventure's eight.
Grate had seven points and juniors Jacy Bolton and Kaminski each scored six. Bolton also grabbed 11 rebounds, marking the fifth time this season with at least 10 boards. Kaminski added six rebounds and three assists.
Mason returns to EagleBank Arena at 2 p.m. on Sunday host Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Duquesne (7-8, 1-1). The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
