FAIRFAX, Va. – After trailing by as many as 15, the George Mason women's basketball pulled within one with 48 seconds remaining (71-70), before falling to Richmond 75-70 on Wednesday evening inside EagleBank Arena.
With under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Patriots cut the deficit to one on five different occasions, but could never take the lead in the contest. Trailing 71-70, Mason had two looks at the basket with three seconds left, but both attempts fell short.
Four Patriots finished in double figures; Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (23),
Jordan Wakefield (12),
Jacy Bolton (10) and
Marika Korpinen (10). It marked the ninth time Cardaño-Hillary scored 20+ points in a contest this season, and the 23rd time she finished in double figures.
Freshman guard Wakefield had a breakout game for the Green & Gold. She finished with career highs in points (12) and rebounds (6) in just 16 minutes of play. The Abingdon, Md., native was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 from deep, in the fourth quarter. She scored nine points and grabbed three offensive boards in the final stanza.
The Patriots shot just 36.2 percent (25-59) from the field and made seven three-pointers (.304). On the other end, Richmond finished with an impressive 49.0 percent (25-51) mark from the floor and 78.3 percent (18-23) mark from the charity stripe.
Both teams finished with 39 rebounds, but the Patriots were +9 on the offensive glass, resulting in 16 second-chance points. Mason also finished with 16 assists on 25 made field goals, with Bolton, Korpinen and Cardaño-Hillary each adding four assists.
Richmond came out firing on all cylinders to start the first quarter, taking a 15-2 advantage with six minutes on the clock. The Patriots slowly chipped away at the deficit to end the period down by nine (21-12). Mason's defense held Richmond without a field goal for the final 3:30 minutes.
Bolton was the difference in the second quarter, pouring in nine points on 3-of-3 shooting. She knocked down back-to-back treys to pull Mason within three at 4:13 (27-24). But, the Patriots then committed three straight turnovers to allow the Spiders to jump back in front (31-27). At the break, Mason trailed by just five points (33-25).
Richmond opened the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take its largest lead of the game with 6:16 on the clock (45-30). The Spiders outscored Mason 22-16 in the quarter to lead by 11 with one period remaining (55-44). Cardaño-Hillary scored eight points, including four free throws, to lead the Patriots in the frame.
Down 13 in the fourth quarter (57-44), the Patriots went on an 8-0 run to pull within four with less than four minutes remaining (60-59). During the stretch, Wakefield score five of her nine points. The Patriots pulled within one on four more occasions during the final stretch of the quarter, but could not take the lead at any point. Wakefield knocked down a three-pointer with 48 seconds on the clock (71-70), as Mason's defense forced a Richmond turnover with 27 seconds left. Cardano-Hillary's three-pointer was no good while freshman
Jazmyn Doster's putback fell short with three seconds remaining. The Spiders held on for the victory, 75-70.
Up next, Mason travels to Saint Joseph's on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off in Philadelphia.
