FAIRFAX, Va. – The George Mason women's basketball team never trailed on Thursday night en route to an 84-77 win over the Marshall Herd.
 
Junior Ta'Viyanna Habib once again led the way in scoring for the Patriots (2-0), dropping 20 points to go with seven rebounds and a steal. For the second-straight game, four players scored in double figures as Mason shot an impressive 42.6% from the field.
 
The Patriots scored the first points of the game at the 9:27 mark of the first quarter off a jumper from sophomore Paula Suárez to lead 2-0, a lead they would never surrender. Despite the high-scoring nature of the game, both teams struggled to get their offenses going in the first stanza as Mason led 12-11 at the break.
 
Mason came out firing in the second however, shooting a blistering 57% from the field. Led by eight points from Habib and Walton, the Patriots scored 28 points in the quarter to stretch their lead to as many as 18. Two second-chance points from the Herd (0-1) brought them back within one 8:23 mark, but a 13-0 run by Mason opened up the lead. Back-to-back second-chance layups by Zahirah Walton at the end of the quarter gave Mason a 17-point lead and a free throw from classmate Nekhu Mitchell sent the Patriots into halftime leading 40-22.
 
Five different players scored for Mason to start the third quarter to push its' lead to as many as 23 with 5:18 remaining, but Marshall would not go quietly. The Herd would go on to score 15 of the next 19 points, shooting 53%, to cut the lead back to 12 at the end of the third quarter. Marshall scored a game-high 29 points in the stanza, building momentum into the fourth.
 
The Herd slowly chipped away at the Patriots' lead, hitting three three's and limiting Mason to just 25% shooting from the field. However, the Patriots connected on 15 of 23 chances from the free throw line, including 8-11 in the last two minutes, to maintain their lead. Stout defense and two timely steals in the final 30 seconds iced the win for the Patriots.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Taylor Jameson (11), Zahirah Walton (11) and Sonia Smith (10) joined Habib in double-figure scoring
• Jameson and Smith also led the way in assists, tallying three and four, respectively
• Nalani Kaysia led all players with 10 rebounds to go with five points and an assist
• The Patriots forced the Herd into 29 turnovers with 13 steals, converting those turnovers into 24 points
• Mason's bench outscored Marshall's 36-12, highlighting the depth of the squad
• The team also out-rebounded the visitors, 52-43, including 16-13 in offensive rebounds which led to 23 second chance points

 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will get on the road for the first time this season, travelling south to William & Mary on Sunday, Nov. 12. Tip-off from Kaplan Arena is set for 1 p.m. on FloHoops.