PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The George Mason women's basketball team bounced back with a 54-49 victory over Saint Joseph's on Saturday inside Hagan Arena.
Mason earned its first conference road win of the season, improving to 3-11 in Atlantic 10 play and 9-18 overall. With the victory, head coach
Nyla Milleson earned her 200th Division I win. She's now five wins away from 100 victories at Mason.
The Patriots tied their season-high in three-point field goal percentage, finishing with a 57.1 percent (8-14) mark. Junior Nicole Cardaño-Hillary matched her season high in three-point field goals, going 4-of-7 from deep (.571).
The Patriots' defense held Saint Joseph's to a 30.6 percent (19-62) mark from the field and 25.0 (4-16) percent from three-point range. Mason also forced 16 SJU turnovers, resulting in 10 points.
Cardaño-Hillary provided an all-around performance for the Green & Gold. She posted team-highs in points (18), rebounds (7), steals (4) and assists (3). It marked her 24th double-digit scoring performance of the season.
Cardaño-Hillary moved into second on Mason's all-time scoring list with 1,705 career points, passing Taylor Brown (2013-16). She is now 42 points shy of a first-place tie with Keri Chaconas (1992-96) with 1,747 points.
Senior
Jacy Bolton added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with seven rebounds in the victory.
A pair of freshmen,
Tamia Lawhorne and
Jazmyn Doster, provided valuable minutes off the bench. Lawhorne finished with nine points and two steals while Doster posted eight points and four boards.
The Patriots struggled offensively in the first quarter, shooting just 28.6 percent (4-14) from the floor. Saint Joseph's notched a three-pointer at the buzzer to take a six-point lead after the first period (15-9). Lawhorne led the Patriots with five points (2-3 FG) in the opening quarter of play.
Mason outscored the Hawks 15-8 in the second quarter to take a one-point lead at the break (24-23). The Patriots shot 45.5 percent from the floor while Cardaño-Hillary scored all of her eight first-half points in the stanza.
Out of the break, Mason went on a 7-1 spurt, capped off by Cardaño-Hillary's third trey of the day, to lead by four with 4:47 on the clock (34-30). Saint Joseph's responded with a run of its own, scoring five straight points over 2:30 minutes, to trail by two (39-37). Freshman
Jordan Wakefield went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give Mason a three-point lead with one quarter remaining (40-37).
Bolton knocked a three-pointer with 7:42 to go in the fourth quarter to ignite an 8-0 run for the Patriots. Doster followed with back-to-back baskets to extend Mason's lead to eight (49-41). Saint Joseph's was unable to pull closer than five for the remainder of the game as Mason held on for the victory, 54-49.
Up next, Mason faces VCU on Wednesday (Feb. 26) at 6 p.m. inside the Siegel Center.
