WILMINGTON, Del. – The George Mason women's basketball team avenged a regular season-loss to the Explorers in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament to advance to their first quarterfinals since the 2017-18 season.
Mason advances to the Atlantic 10 quarterfinal tomorrow, March 3, to take on top-seeded and reigning Atlantic 10 Champion Massachusetts at 11 a.m.
In an all-around team win, every player that touched the floor for Mason scored at least three points and grabbed at least one rebound. Senior
Sonia Smith scored a game-high 18 points, including a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. She also pulled down five rebounds, dished out three assists and registered a steal.
The Patriots (16-14) opened up scoring off of Smith's first field goal attempt after senior
Nalani Kaysia won the opening tipoff. Mason built their lead back to six with 44 seconds left off of an offensive rebound and putback from senior
Jazmyn Doster, but La Salle responded with a three-pointer. However, Smith would close the quarter on a pull up jump shot with just two seconds on the clock to push the lead back to five, 18-13, at the end of the first.
The Explorers (17-14) opened the second quarter on a 7-1 run to take their first lead of the game, 20-19. The teams traded points during the middle of the quarter and La Salle led 30-28 with 2:52 remaining in the quarter, but two points each from three different Patriots would give them a four-point lead they would carry into halftime.
Both teams locked down on defense in the third, as Mason would hold La Salle to just 27.3% from the field and eight points. Junior
Taylor Jameson hit a three-pointer with 1:46 to go in the quarter to stretch the lead to nine, but the Explorers responded with a three-pointer of their own to trail by six with one quarter remaining.
Led by a nine-for-nine effort from the free throw line from Smith and classmate
Tamia Lawhorne, the Patriots were able to hold off a hot shooting La Salle in the fourth. The Explorers tied the game at 46 apiece with 6:33 remaining on a three-point play, but a Paula Suárez three-pointer and a successful Lawhorne and-1 would push the lead to seven.
Mason went 5-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to hold of La Salle and complete the second round upset, 64-58.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Nalani Kaysia pulled down a game-high 10 boards as a part of a Mason effort that out-rebounded La Salle 45-35.
- Paula Suárez once again filled the stat sheet, posting a career-high six assists to go with nine points, two steals and a block
- Tamia Lawhorne was the second Patriot in double figures, contributing 11 to go with two steals
- Starting in her fourth-straight game, freshman Nekhu Mitchell contributed six points and six rebounds as well as two steals and a block
- Mason forced La Salle into 17 turnovers, compliments of 10 steals, just their fourth time this season posting double-digit steals
UP NEXT
Mason takes on No. 1 UMass tomorrow at 11 a.m. inside CHASE Fieldhouse. Championship info is
here and fans can purchase tickets
here.
