RICHMOND, Va. – In the final game of the regular season, the George Mason women's basketball team fell to VCU 61-56 in a defensive battle.
 
The senior duo of Taylor Jameson and Sonia Smith combined for 42 of the team's 56 points, with Jameson matching her season-high of 19 and Smith contributing 23 in her seventh 20-point performance of the season.
 
The Rams (26-4, 15-3) came out firing, jumping out to a 14-1 lead over the first five minutes of the first quarter. However, Smith stepped up in a major way, scoring the next nine points on her own to pull the Patriots (23-6, 14-4) within four with two minutes to go. Jameson followed it up with a steal and fastbreak layup to cut the lead to two, and the teams traded points down the stretch as VCU led 19-17 after the first.
 
Mason outscored VCU 17-13 in the second quarter, powered by 11 points from Jameson. Amy O'Hara came off the bench and grabbed an offensive rebound and hit two free throws to tie the game at 19. The points sparked a 12-0 run for the Patriots as they led 29-19 with 6:27 remaining in the second. The Rams chipped away at the double-figure deficit, but Mason held on to the lead and led by two (34-32) at halftime.
 
After VCU regained the lead with a three-point play to open the third quarter, Jameson and Paula Suárez bookended a 10-2 run with two three-pointers to push the lead to seven at the media timeout. The Rams once again chipped away and scored the final basket of the quarter to trail by just four (49-45) with one to go.
 
VCU's defense was the name of the game in the fourth, allowing the Patriots to score just seven points in the final 10 minutes of play. After Zahirah Walton hit a jumper to push the Mason lead to six, the Rams strung together 14-straight points to take an eight-point lead with two and a half minutes left. With just about a minute left, Smith converted a layup and hit a three-pointer after a steal on back-to-back possessions to get back within three and force a VCU timeout. However, the Rams held on for the win after running down the clock and not allowing another Mason point.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Zahirah Walton led the Patriots with six rebounds to go with eight points, two blocks, an assist and a steal
• Along with her 19 points, Jameson grabbed a game-high three steals
• Paula Suárez paced the offense with a game-high four assists to go with five rebounds, three points and a block
• Mason won the turnover battle, 13-19, turning the VCU turnovers into 23 points

 
UP NEXT
Mason will await the rest of the Atlantic 10 games to wrap up today to learn its' postseason seeding. The Patriots have already clinched a double-bye and will open in the Quarterfinals on Friday, March 8. Click here for tickets and information!