FAIRFAX, Va. – Behind a season-high 20 points from senior Sonia Smith, the George Mason women's basketball team downed George Washington, 67-57, for their third Atlantic 10 conference win of the season.
 
With the victory, the Patriots (10-9, 3-3) match both their season and conference win totals from a season ago. In just her second season at the helm, head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis has led Mason to double-digit regular season wins for the first time since the 2018-2019.
 
Smith's point-total marks the first time in the green and gold that the senior has reached 20 points. She also dished out a game-high four assists and notched two steals and two rebounds.
 
Defensively, graduate student J-Naya Ephraim pulled down 15 rebounds for the second time this season, matching her career-high set earlier this month against Duquesne. She also registered a season-best four assists, five points, and a steal.
 
The first quarter was evenly matched and featured three lead changes and five tie scores. Mason led by as many as five with 4:50 remaining, but the Colonials (11-8, 3-3) were able to chip away and hit a second-chance layup with under 30 seconds remaining to tie the score at 17 after the first.
 
With just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter, GW was able to take the lead on a three-point basket, but Mason finished the quarter on a 12-6 run to lead 35-30 at the break. Smith and junior Taylor Jameson scored seven-points a-piece on a combined 5-6 shooting to lead the offensive effort. 
 
It was all Mason in quarter three, outscoring the visiting Colonials 24-12 on an incredible 76.9% shooting from the field, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. The Patriots slowly continued to build their lead over the second half of the period and held GW scoreless for over two minutes at the end, stretching the lead to as many as 20 on an Ephraim free throw.
 
Entering the fourth quarter leading by 17, the Patriots had to rely on defense and free throw shooting in the last period as the offense cooled off. The Colonials were able to fight back and cut the lead down to just eight with two minutes remaining, but four made free throws down the stretch by Smith and Jameson iced the 10-point win for the Patriots.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Mason shot 54.5% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range, both season-high marks for the team
• Senior Nalani Kaysia also had a fantastic game and was just one rebound off of her third career double-double, posting 14 points, nine rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal.
• Jameson posted the second-highest point total of the afternoon with 16 points on perfect shooting. The guard was 4-4 from the field, 2-2 from deep and 6-6 from the charity stripe. She also contributed two rebounds, a block and an assist.
• Sophomore Paula Suarez had a comprehensive afternoon, posting eight points, three assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block. She knocked down two three-pointers and is 6-6 from range over the last two contests.
• It was the second-straight game that Mason was able to hold their opponent under 25% from three-point range, limiting the Colonials to just 16.0% (4-25) from long.

 
UP NEXT
Mason will have an extended break after playing three games in just six days and will return to the court in Richmond. The Patriots will tip-off with the Spiders on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.