ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The George Mason women's basketball team earned a thrilling 77-75 overtime victory over Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, Md.
Trailing 64-55 with three minutes remaining in regulation, Mason ended the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to force overtime. In the extra period, Mason scored 10 straight points to take the lead, and never looked back (77-75).
It marked Mason's first overtime win since Dec. 7, 2017 when the Patriots defeated LIU Brooklyn in Fairfax.
Four Patriots finished in double figures:
Jazmyn Doster (14),
Amaya Scott (14),
Jordan Wakefield (13) and
Tamia Lawhorne (11). Mason improved to 4-0 when three-or-more players finish in double figures.
Doster registered her fourth career double-double with a 14-point, 13-rebound outing. She matched her career high in rebounds, and tied her season best in points.
Scott went 6-of-9 from the floor for 14 points to go along with six rebounds while Wakefield added 13 points and seven boards.
Lawhorne knocked down three three-pointers – including back-to-back treys in the fourth quarter – to spark Mason's late-game run.
Mason shot 46.8 percent from the floor (29-62) and made seven three-pointers (.368).
Entering Saturday's game, Bowling Green had made 27 three-pointers in three games. Mason's defense held them to just four three-pointers on 25 attempts (.160).
It was all Mason to start the game with Doster and Scott notching back-to-back layups. The Patriots then went on a 9-0 run to lead 13-2. Mason held BGSU to 21.4 percent from the floor and just six points in the first quarter. Offensively, seven different Patriots scored as Mason owned a 10-point advantage (16-6).
Mason took its largest lead of the half with 7:55 remaining in the second quarter (22-8). Doster scored four points while Wakefield added a jumper during the 6-0 run. The Patriot defense held the Falcons without a field goal for four minutes heading into the media timeout (22-10).
Bowling Green then came alive offensively, rattling off seven straight points (25-19). The Falcons outscored the Patriots 19-11 in the second quarter (27-25). At the break, Doster led the Patriots with 10 rebounds and six points. The Patriots committed 12 turnovers which turned into nine points for the Falcons.
Bowling Green scored six straight points to take its first lead of the game with 5:41 to go in the third quarter (37-36).
Jayla Adams then sunk a three-pointer to put Mason back in front (39-37). Mason pushed its lead to six after a Scott jumper (47-41), but the Falcons finished the quarter on an 8-2 run (49-49).
The Falcons took its largest lead of the game with three minutes remaining in regulation (64-55). The Patriots responded with nine straight points to end the fourth quarter and force overtime (64-64). The run was highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by Lawhorne.
After a BGSU layup to start the extra period, Mason rattled off 10 straight points to lead 74-66. The Falcons chipped away at the eight-point advantage, and had a chance to tie the game with under 10 seconds remaining, but the look was no good as Mason escaped with the 77-75 overtime victory.
Up next, Mason plays Navy on Sunday in its final game of the 2021 Navy Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. on ESPN+.
