RICHMOND, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team dropped a midweek contest to VCU on Wednesday night at the Siegel Center.

The Patriots (3-8, 0-4 A-10) fell behind early and couldn't catch up in a 60-41 loss to Atlantic 10 preseason favorite VCU.

Playing close to home, graduate student Daijah Jefferson scored a game-high 11 points and added three rebounds and two assists.

Redshirt freshman Rachel Balzer went 3-for-7 from behind-the-arc for nine points in the ballgame. Senior Marika Koprinen added all six of her points in the fourth quarter.

Mason won the rebounding battle 39-35 and grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, which it turned into nine second-chance points. The Patriots, however, struggled with turnovers again, committing 17 miscues. VCU scored 21 points off turnovers. The Patriots entered the game averaging 15 turnovers a game.

Mason started off strong, trailing by only two after the first quarter of play (13-11). The Patriots shot 33.3 percent from the floor (4-12) while Jefferson scored four points to lead Mason heading into the second period.  

VCU opened the second quarter on a 14-1 run to extend their advantage to 15 with 4:29 on the clock (27-12). The Rams went on to outscore the Patriots 39-20 in the second and third quarters combined (+19).

The Patriots showed some resiliency in the fourth quarter. After trailing by as many as 24, the Patriots outscored the Rams 10-8 in the final period. Mason cut the deficit to 11 with 6:04 left in the fourth quarter but did not score again for the remainder of the game.

Mason returns to EagleBank Arena on Sunday to host Revolutionary Rival George Washington. Tip-off is scheduled for noon and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.