FAIRFAX, Va. – In another game that came down to the wire, the George Mason women's basketball team picked up a gritty 60-57 victory over rival George Washington on Saturday afternoon.
The win marks the 20
th of the season for Mason, marking the first 20-win season since 2018, and the fastest a Mason squad has reached the mark in a season (25 games). The victory is also the 11
th Atlantic 10 win of the season, tying the most by the team since joining the league.
Paula Suárez had one of the best games of her career, matching career-highs in points (16), assists (6), field goals (6) and three-pointers made (4). She also added four rebounds and two steals.
Jazmyn Doster also had her best game of the season, posting a season-high 17 points with a team-high eight rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block.
It was all Mason through the opening 10 minutes, as the Patriots (20-5, 11-3) jumped out to a 9-0 lead, capped by Suárez's first three of the day to force a George Washington timeout at the 6:15 mark. The Revolutionaries finally got on the board out of the break, but
Kennedy Harris responded with a three-point make to push the lead out to 10 for the first time. The teams traded points throughout the second half of the quarter and Mason led 20-12 at the conclusion of the first.
Mason scored 10 of the opening 12 points of the second to push its lead to the largest of the day, 16 (30-14), with 5:06 remaining in the quarter. However, trailing by 14 points with three minutes remaining in the half, the visitors locked down on defense, holding Mason scoreless while scoring the final seven of the points of the half. A three-point play by Mayowa Taiwo to close the stanza cut the lead to 33-26 and give GW momentum into the break.
The Revolutionaries slowly chipped away at the Patriots' lead during the third, highlighted by a defense that held Mason to a game-low 12 points in the stanza. Four-straight free throws by GW gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 44-42, with two minutes remaining. Suárez took back the lead with a three-pointer, but the Revs converted off a Mason turnover to lead by one with 10 minutes remaining.
The fourth quarter was a thriller, featuring seven lead changes as the teams traded baskets throughout. Suárez once again put the Patriots back in front with a three-pointer with 6:06 remaining and Doster pushed them ahead by three (56-53), but GW hit a three-pointer a minute later to even the score. With 1:24 remaining, the Revolutionaries went 1-2 at the free throw line to take the lead, but
Ta'Viyanna Habib put forth a valiant effort on the offensive end to pull down a rebound and convert the putback through a foul to give Mason the lead with 48 seconds to go.
George Washington brought the ball down and went for a layup with 20 seconds remaining, but it did not fall and
Nekhu Mitchell pulled down her biggest rebound of the game and Mason called timeout. Off the inbound,
Taylor Jameson was fouled and drilled two free throws to push the Patriots ahead by three, and GW could not get anything to land on the other end as Mason completed the series sweep for the first time since 2019.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Joining Suárez and Doster in double-figure scoring was Habib, who posted 12 points. The performance marks the seventh-straight game Habib has scored 10+ points
- The Patriots tallied 10+ steals for the 10th time on Saturday, led by three from Kennedy Harris
- Led by Doster's 17 points, the Patriots scored 36 points in the point compared to 30 from George Washington
- Mason won the turnover battle, 10-14, with no player committing more than two
UP NEXT
The Patriots will get back on the road for a midweek matchup with St. Bonaventure on Feb. 21. Tip-off with the Bonnies is set for 7 p.m.
