FAIRFAX, Va. – In a game of runs, a pair of scoring runs in the third period by the George Mason women's basketball team proved to be the deciding factor in a 75-62 home victory on Saturday afternoon. Mason improves to 2-1 on the young season while Detroit Mercy drops to 0-4 overall.
Four Patriots finished in double figures with senior Jacy Bolton and sophomore Nicole Cardaño-Hillary each contributing 19 points in the contest. Junior Camarie Gatling chipped in a season-high 14 points while junior Marika Korpinen notched 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting.
Senior Sarah Kaminski moved into fifth in program history with her 142nd career three-point field goal in the first seconds of the game. She finished with three three-pointers to now sit fourth all-time (144). She also added a career-high nine rebounds.
Mason shot a season-best 43.1 percent from the field and 31.6 from behind the arc. Detroit Mercy shot 41.7 percent from the field and only 27.3 percent from the three-point line.
The Patriots used a quick start and strong finish to take a 20-9 lead after one quarter of play. Mason scored five straight points to open the period and finished the quarter on a 6-0 run. Kaminski hit all three of her three pointers (3-4) in the first stanza.
Detroit Mercy came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter, cutting Mason's lead to two, 24-22. Mason was held 0-of-4 from the field for 3:09 minutes as the Titans used a 9-0 run to cut into the deficit.
Detroit took its first lead of the game with 36 seconds left in the first half, 31-30. The Titans finished the half on an 8-0 run over 1:58 minutes to lead 33-30 at the break. The Titans outscored the Patriots
24-10 in the period.
Mason bounced back with a commanding 11-0 run to open the third period, including five points from Bolton during the stretch. Another 13-0 run propelled the Patriots to their largest lead of the game, 56-41, with two minutes remaining in the period. Cardaño-Hillary scored 11 of her 19 points in the stanza, going 4-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Bolton also added 10 of her season-high 19 points in the quarter.
The Titans knocked down their first three field goals of the fourth quarter to cut Mason's lead to seven, 59-52. But Gatling stepped up down the stretch with eight points in the period to lead Mason to victory, 75-62.
The Patriots wrap up their three-game homestand against American on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.
