FAIRFAX, Va. – Every player that touched the floor on Wednesday night contributed to the George Mason women's basketball team's largest margin of victory in almost five years, as Mason toppled Charleston Southern, 74-34.
 
The Patriots (1-3) limited their opponent to the fewest points in six years, when Mason held Norfolk State to 33 in a 60-33 win at home on Nov. 21, 2016.
 
Offensively, Mason had three players in double-digits, led by junior Taylor Jameson who dropped 18 points on 6-13 shooting, including four of five from beyond the arc. On the other side of the court, graduate student J-Naya Ephraim set a new career-high in rebounding, securing 11 boards (4 OREB, 7 DREB). It marked the first time in her career she notched a double-digit performance. 
 
Mason's defense came out on fire, immediately applying a full court press on the Buccaneers (1-3). The Patriots limited the Bucs to just four points on 2-11 shooting in the first stanza and led 12-4 at the break.
 
It was more of the same in quarter two, as Charleston Southern had to rely on free throw shooting, scoring seven of their nine points from the charity stripe. Mason, on the other hand, shot 30.6% from the field and scored 16 points off of Bucs' turnovers.
 
The Patriots picked off right where they left off after the break, knocking down six of nine three-point shots and shotting 50% overall. Smith and sophomore Paula Suárez paced the defense in quarter three, both registering two assists each.
 
Mason finished the game strong, scoring a game-high 23 points in the fourth. Four players hit a three, including freshman Jada Brown off the bench, who dropped five quick points in her Mason debut.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• All 12 available players found time on the court on Wednesday, and every player scored at least two points.
• Smith contributed 11 points and graduate student Riley Childs scored a season-high 10 to round out the double-digit scoring performances for the Patriots.
• The Patriots had a stellar all-around performance, registering season-highs in shooting (.403), rebounding (50), assisting (13) and steals (13) while committing a season-low 13 turnovers.
• Jameson had a well-rounded game, adding three assists, three steals and five rebounds to her 18 points in her team-high 29 minutes of work.
• Ephraim was just one bucket off a double-double, contributing eight points, an assist and a steal. Fellow graduate student Childs tallied a game-high two blocks, with two rebounds, two steals and an assist.

GAME THOUGHTS
"And so tonight was really a gut check for our team, for our players, for our veterans, for our leaders," said head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis. "And we did a great job stepping up tonight. This team needed this win."

"The excitement that you see is the family atmosphere that we have here. So we're excited for everybody, that's our job as starters, as leaders, to get everybody in," added J-Naya Ephraim.
 
UP NEXT
Mason will remain in Fairfax this weekend for a Saturday afternoon matchup with Loyola (Md.) Tip-off with the Greyhounds is set for 3 p.m.