PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The George Mason women's basketball team tipped off the 2020-21 season on Wednesday against Pitt. The Patriots fell to the Panthers 72-57 inside Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Graduate transfer Daijah Jefferson entered Wednesday's game with high expectations and did not disappoint. The six-foot-two forward finished with a career-high 17 points and added five rebounds and an assist in her Mason debut.

Senior Marika Korpinen added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.

Mason shot 20.0 percent for the game and committed 17 turnovers, while Pitt turned it over 21 times but shot 42.0 percent (29-69) from the floor and held a 38-14 advantage in points in the paint.

The Patriots put together a 29-for-39 effort (.744) from the free throw line and limited the Panthers to just 12 trips to the charity stripe (.667).

Joined by Korpinen, sophomore Tamia Lawhorne and sophomore Jazmyn Doster, Jefferson and freshman point guard Taylor Jameson earned their first career start in the Green & Gold. Pitt opened the game on a 6-0 run, but Jefferson responded with five straight points (6-5). Pitt finished the period on an 8-0 spurt to lead 14-5 at the end of the first quarter. Mason struggled offensively in the opening frame, going 2-of-17 from the field.

Korpinen ended the scoring drought for the Patriots with 4:31 left on the clock in the second quarter (22-7). The Patriots then ignited for a 12-4 run to pull within 11 (30-19). During that span, freshman Vanessa Laumbach and sophomore Jordan Wakefield knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. It marked the first points of Laumbach's collegiate career. Pitt responded with seven straight points over the final 54 seconds of the first half to lead 37-19.

The Panthers outscored the Patriots 26-12 in the third quarter, taking their largest lead of the game with five seconds remaining in the frame (63-31).

Despite outscoring Pitt 26-9 in the fourth quarter, Mason could not overcome the early deficit and dropped its season opener (72-57). The Patriots finished 14-of-15 from the free throw line in the final quarter of play, including a 7-for-8 effort by Lawhorne.

Up next, Mason returns to EagleBank Arena for its home opener against Navy on Sunday. Tip-off in Fairfax is scheduled for 2 p.m.