MIAMI, Fla. - The George Mason women's basketball team earned a thrilling 69-67 win over Florida International University on Tuesday night at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Fla.

Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis became the third Mason women's basketball head coach to earn a victory in their Mason coaching debut, joining Jim Wolfe/Jim Conklin (1974-75) and Becky Burch (1976-77). 

Playing in her first game in 609 days, senior transfer Amaya Scott scored the go-ahead basket to give Mason the 67-66 lead with less than a minute remaining. The Patriot defense held strong as Mason defeated FIU 69-67 in its season opener. 

Scott finished with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting. She pulled down six rebounds and added two steals in her Patriot debut. It marked the 41st double-digit scoring performance of her overall career.

Junior Jordan Wakefield led the Patriots with a career-high 17 points behind a personal best 8-of-8 from the free throw line. She had five rebounds and two blocks in the strong opening-night performance.

In addition, redshirt sophomore Jayla Adams returned to the hardwood for the first time in two years. She tied her career-high in assists (7) to go along with eight points.

The Patriots shot 48.0 percent from the field (24-50) but made just two three-pointers on 12 attempts (.167). Mason made 19-of-24 free throw attempts (.792) while holding its opponent to just 11 trips to the charity stripe (7-11 FT).

The Patriots held the advantage in second chance points (12-0) and points in the paint (34-30). FIU finished 25-of-56 from the floor (.450) and made 10 three-pointers (.420).

It was a quarter of runs to begin the first period. Mason jumped out to a commanding 12-3 lead after an and-1 by Jazmyn Doster. The Panthers responded with a run of their own, scoring 11 straight points to take their first lead of game (14-12). Mason finished the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to reclaim the lead, 18-16. That stretch included the first Patriot career points for Adams and J-Naya Ephraim.

Back-to-back baskets gave FIU the lead to start the second quarter (21-18). Junior Tamia Lawhorne came alive for the Patriots in the period, scoring six points. Her performance helped Mason own a 30-29 lead at the break.

Mason shot an efficient 48.1 percent from the floor in the first half (13-27), but struggled from three-point range, hitting just one-of-six attempts (.167).

Coming out of the break, FIU scored 10 unanswered points (39-30). Mason responded with five straight points, including a layup from Adams and three-point play by Wakefield (39-35). The Panthers pushed their advantage to 10 with seven minutes remaining (49-39). Slowly, Mason began chipping away at the deficit, and trailed by four with one quarter remaining (53-49).

Wakefield converted another three-point play to give Mason the lead with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter (57-56). At the media timeout, FIU held a three-point advantage (61-58). A clutch three-pointer by freshman Paula Suarez brought Mason within one with less than three minutes remaining (64-63). Two free throws by Adams gave Mason the lead (65-64), but a turnover put the advantage back in FIU's favor with 1:38 on the clock (66-65). 

Down one with under a minute remaining, Scott showed her poise and experience. She scored the go-ahead layup to put Mason back in front for the remainder of the game (67-66). Free throws by Suarez and Adams sealed the victory (69-67).

Up next, Mason heads to Baltimore, Md., to take on Loyola (Md.) on Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Reitz Arena for Field Trip Day.