FAIRFAX, Va. – On a special night, when George Mason women's basketball joined the rest of the country and recognized women's achievements in sports, the Patriots' sophomore point guard decided to write her own chapter in the record books.

Nicole Cardaño-Hillary unleashed a career-high 37-point performance in leading Mason to a 61-46 victory over Revolutionary Rival George Washington on Wednesday night at EagleBank Arena.

Cardaño-Hillary set the Mason individual record for most points in an Atlantic 10 Conference game. The previous high had been 35 by Taylor Brown in 2014.

The Patriots (12-10, 4-5 Atlantic 10) snapped a two-game losing streak in front of a season-high crowd of 1,468 at EagleBank Arena on National Girls & Women in Sports Day. The athletic department paid special tribute to the late Sue Collins, a former Mason Senior Woman Administrator who passed away this past summer. Collins, a pioneer in collegiate women's sports, spent 34 years at the Mason before retiring in 2015. She passed away this past summer. Her three sisters and nephew were on hand on Wednesday and were recognized during a pregame reception and on-court during the game.

"This one tonight was for Sue Collins," Mason head coach Nyla Milleson said. "She is the reason I am here. Six years ago, she and a couple of other people trusted me. She paved the way for many, many people over the course of the years, not just at Mason, but across the country."

The Patriots swept the season series against their rival GW for the first time. The teams have been guaranteed at least two games a season since Mason joined the A-10 in 2013-14. The last time Mason won consecutive games in the series there were seven years in between victories (Dec. 20, 2002 and Dec. 22, 2009).

Cardaño-Hillary scored 22 points in the first half and tied a career-high with five 3-pointers (on eight attempts). She also set career highs in field goals (14) and rebounds (nine). She also shot 60.8 percent from the field (14-of-23) and nabbed three steals.

The sophomore from Madrid, Spain, has recorded more than 30 points in her career three times, all coming this season. Prior to tipoff, she was recognized for scoring her 1,000th career point last week against Saint Louis on the road. The point guard, who leads the Atlantic 10 with 21.4 points a game this season, reached the milestone in just 54 games.

"I've said it since she walked on campus, she is a special player," Milleson said. "She just has that knack to score the basketball. I thought she was really locked in. When she gets in a zone like that, she is pretty tough, pretty hard to guard. I thought our other players really tried to stay involved though. Nikki didn't get her points tonight by forcing. Nikki got her points by staying in the confines of the offense, by everybody else continuing to do her job."

A close game in the first quarter was blown open in the second quarter when Cardaño-Hillary erupted for 15 points. It started at the end of the first period when, with Mason down by two, she rattled off five points, including a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left that put the Patriots ahead for good.

That was just the start of a 15-3 run where Cardaño-Hillary accounted for all 15 points. Three 3-pointers and three layups propelled Mason to a 26-16 lead with 5:37 left in the first half. The Patriots ended the half with a 9-0 run, again capped off by a Cardaño-Hillary trey and layup.

Mason took a 14-point lead into halftime and upped the advantage to 19 points early in the third quarter. But George Washington (8-15, 5-5), the defending A-10 tournament champ that had won 13 straight in the series prior to Mason's victory in D.C. last month, didn't go away.

The Colonials closed the gap to eight points with nearly nine minutes left in the game. A long scoreless drought for both teams over the next three minutes kept the score at 49-41 as GW missed four shots and committed three turnovers in that span.

The Patriots finally ended the scoreless stretch when Cardano-Hillary grabbed a steal and raced uncontested to the basket for a layup. Junior Jacy Bolton induced a steal on the next possession and Cardaño-Hillary again scored on the other end, quickly pushing the lead to a comfortable 12 point-margin with 5:01 to go.

George Washington never got closer than nine after that as the Patriots closed out their second straight home victory. It marked the first time since 2011 that Mason had defeated GW at EagleBank Arena.

Mason shot 46.7 percent from the field and scored 18 points off 14 GW turnovers. The Patriots' defense played great, holding the Colonials to just 46 points – tied for the lowest by a Mason opponent this season. GW shot just 33.3 percent and twice had quarters where they scored less than 10 points.

Juniors Alexsis Grate and Allie McCool each scored seven points and Bolton added six points, eight rebounds and three assists.

The Patriots now hit the road to play Fordham at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Bronx, N.Y.