FAIRFAX, Va. – Led by a career-high 27 points from Kennedy Harris, the George Mason women's basketball team downed Dayton, 78-53, to finish its' home schedule at 12-1.
 
Harris' 27 points was highlighted by stellar three-point shooting, where the rookie matched her career-high of five makes from deep. Overall, she made a career-high nine field goals on 15 attempts to go along with a career-high eight rebounds to lead the team. She also notched two steals and an assist.
 
The game got off to a slow start, with Mason scoring the first points of the game almost four minutes in. The teams combined for just 4-29 shooting, but the Patriots (23-5, 14-3) knocked down 6-7 free throw attempts to hold a 10-6 edge at the first break.
 
The Flyers (11-17, 4-12) hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to one on their first offensive possession, but Harris hit three-straight treys of her own on the next three Mason offensive possessions to push the Patriots' lead to seven with 7:30 on the clock. Dayton cut the lead back to five with four minutes remaining in the half, but Mason responded with a 12-0 run. Capped by a buzzer-beating layup from Harris for her 19^th points of the night, the Patriots took a 36-19 lead into halftime.
 
Dayton scored the opening points of the third quarter, but Mason responded with an 8-1 run to double-up the Flyers at the 5:50 mark of the third. The teams traded points through the middle of the quarter, but the Patriots once again ended on a high note, scoring the final eight points to push their lead to 25. Mason shot 60% in the third and ended the quarter going 9-9 from the field.
 
The Patriots opened the quarter with a 6-1 run to stretch the lead to as many as 30 with seven minutes remaining. Both teams scored 17 points in the final stanza, and Harris closed the Mason scoring and her career-night with her fifth three-pointer of the night to provide the final tally.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Kennedy Harris led a trio of Patriots in double-figures as Ta'Viyanna Habib (11) and Zahirah Walton (10) also scored 10+
• Pacing the offense was Sonia Smith, who dished out a game-high four assists to go with eight points, two rebounds, a steal and a block
• The Mason bench exploded for 47 points on the night, compared to 24 from the Flyers
• The Patriots hit a season-best 94.7% of their free throws, going 18-19 from the line
• Mason won the turnover battle, 14-20, and converted Dayton's 20 turnovers into 21 points

 
UP NEXT
Mason will wrap up the regular season on the road at VCU on Saturday, March 2. Tip-off with the Rams is set for 1 p.m. in Richmond.