BRONX, N.Y. – A duel of the Atlantic 10 Conference's top guards went the way of Fordham on Sunday as the George Mason women's basketball team suffered a 64-53 loss at Rose Hill Gym.
The game featured the league's top two scorers – Mason sophomore
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (21.4 points per game) and Fordham redshirt sophomore Bre Cavanaugh (16.2 ppg). Cavanaugh scored 16 of her game-high 22 points in the first half. Cardaño-Hillary (21.4 ppg), on the heels of a career-high 37-point performance on Wednesday against George Washington, tallied 11 points to go along with five assists.
Junior guard
Sarah Kaminski led the Patriots (12-11, 4-6 A-10) with a season-high tying 15 points and four 3-pointers. Sophomore
Camarie Gatling added 12 points and seven rebounds.
In a Super Bowl rematch, the Patriots and Rams traded blows early on, including two deep 3-pointers by Kaminski. Fordham, however, was able to break out to an early 19-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter on nine George Mason turnovers leading to a 12-1 run for the Rams.
Rejuvenated on defense, George Mason trimmed the margin to just two at 23-21 but that would be as close as the Patriots would get. Cavanaugh and the Rams closed the half on a 15-6 run to go ahead at the break 38-27.
Foul trouble plagued the second-half rally for the Patriots, with three players each whistled for four fouls. Mason closed the gap to eight points on three occasions in the third quarter but the Rams responded each time. Fordham held on to a comfortable double-digit advantage for most of the final period.
George Mason shot the ball well from the field (46.5 percent) and from deep (57.1 percent). The Patriots fired off only seven 3s in the contest, the fewest they have attempted in a game this season. Fordham, conversely, made 10 treys on 27 attempts (37 percent) while shooting 43 percent from the field (46.5 percent).
With both teams shooting over 40 percent there weren't many rebounds to go around but Mason won the battle on the boards, 27-24. The Patriots have now outrebounded their opponents in three straight games and in seven of their 10 conference matchups.
Fordham (17-8, 8-3) picked up their sixth straight victory over the Patriots and their fourth consecutive win overall. The Rams recorded 21 points off the 20 Patriot turnovers, which was Mason's most in conference play this season.
The Patriots wrap up the regular season with four of their final six games being played inside EagleBank Arena.
Up first will be the La Salle Explorers at 7 p.m. on Thursday for a Valentine's Day special before the VCU Rams, who sit atop the A-10 standings, come to town at 2 p.m. on Sunday for Girl Scout Day. Both games can be seen live on ESPN+.
