FAIRFAX, Va. – In another do or die game,
Jacy Bolton once again rose to the occasion.
The George Mason junior scored a career-high 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a phenomenal performance in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championship on Tuesday. But the No. 7 seeded Patriots could not overcome a sluggish first quarter, eventually falling 86-80 in double overtime to No. 10 Massachusetts at EagleBank Arena.
Bolton made 10 of 14 shots from the field and was 14 of 16 from the free-throw line to give the Patriots (16-14) a chance after they scored just five points in the opening quarter. Sophomore Nicole Cardano-Hillary also scored 21 points and junior
Sarah Kaminski added 12 points before fouling out in the first overtime.
Senior Hailey Leidel scored 31 points and was a perfect 18-for-18 for the Minutewomen, who advanced to the quarterfinals and will play Fordham at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in Pittsburgh.
Mason led 73-69 with 2:58 to go in the second overtime before UMass ripped off a 10-0 run to jump in front for good.
