FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team picked up their second-straight conference win on Sunday over Duquesne, the team's first win over the Dukes as members of the Atlantic 10 conference.
 
Graduate student J-Naya Ephraim had an incredible performance under the net with a career-high 15 rebounds, the most by a Patriot this season. She also contributed six points and two assists.
 
Meanwhile, three Patriots scored in double-digits, led by senior Tamia Lawhorne who had a game-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds and a steal. 
 
The game was highlighted by several long-winded runs, beginning in the first quarter. Tthe Patriots (9-7, 2-1) scored the first basket of the game, but Duquesne quickly responded with a 9-0 run over the span of about three minutes. Mason was able to respond in the second part of the stanza however, as it built a 10-1 run to close the quarter, bolstered by two three-pointers from Lawhorne.
 
Leading 12-10 at the start of the second quarter, the Patriots pushed their lead to as many as 11, shooting 6-10 from the field. Mason capped their best offensive quarter with a three-point play from sophomore Paula Suarez and led 28-18 at the halftime break.
 
Mason brought the momentum into the third, scoring the quarter's first seven points for their largest lead of the game at 17. However, the Dukes (11-5, 1-2) went on a run of their own, stringing together 13-straight points to get within three points, 39-36, with 2:27 remaining and force a Mason timeout. The Patriots scored the last two field goals of the quarter to regain control and led 44-37 with one quarter to go.
 
Strong defense by Mason in the fourth allowed just eight points by the Dukes and solid team offense led to 17 points and 6-9 shooting at the charity stripe to cruise to the 16-point win, the Patriots' largest A-10 victory since the 2019-20 season when they downed UMass 73-56.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• The trio of Tamia Lawhorne (15 PTS), Paula Suarez (career-high 11 PTS) and Taylor Jameson (10 PTS) all posted double-digit performances, and Mason is now 9-3 this season when multiple players score in double-figures.
• Jameson also notched a game-high four assists and five rebounds while Suarez added three assists and a steal.
• Senior Nalani Kaysia notched a career-high four blocks to go along with nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Mason held Duquesne to just 28.3% shooting from the field and 26.1% from three-point range, the second-straight game it held its' opponent to under 30% in both categories.

 
UP NEXT
Mason will hit the road for a two-game road-swing beginning with a trip to Philadelphia, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 11. The Patriots will take on La Salle for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN+.