STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The George Mason women's basketball team's historic season came to an end on Thursday night, as the Patriots fell to Penn State on the road in overtime, 84-80.
Four players scored in double-figures for the Patriots (23-8), led by career performances from junior Paula Suárez and sophomore
Zahirah Walton, who both scored a game-high 24 points. Suárez hit a career-high six three-pointers, the second most in a single game in school history, to go along with six rebounds, a steal and a career-high matching six assists.
The Nittany Lions (20-12) jumped out to an early 19-7 lead halfway through the first quarter. However, Mason called a timeout to reset, and battled back, responding with a 13-2 run to close out the first frame and trail by just one, 21-20, after 10 minutes.
Ta'Viyanna Habib kick started the run with five-straight points as Mason took momentum into the second.
The teams traded points to open the second quarter, trading the lead four times. Suarez hit her fourth three-pointer of the night at the 3:45 mark to bring the Patriots back within one at the media timeout. Out of the break, the Patriots scored five-straight points, led by an and-one opportunity from Walton. Penn State stopped the run with a free throw, but Mason held the hosts without a field goal for the final 4:24 of the half to take a 39-34 lead into the break.
Mason continued its' strong defense in the third quarter, allowing just five field goals and one three-pointer from the Nittany Lions in the frame. Another Suárez three-pointer at the 1:08 mark pushed the Patriot lead to double-figures for the first time (57-47) and Mason carried a nine point advantage into the fourth quarter.
Suárez hit her sixth three of the evening to open the fourth and push the lead to 12. A Penn State fastbreak cut the lead back to 10 with 8:02 left, and from there went on a 12-3 run over five-and-a-half minutes to trail by just one point with 2:49 remaining in the game. The teams traded points and Penn State still trailed by one with 1:30 to go, but neither team could convert a field goal down the stretch. The Nittany Lions had a chance to win it on two free throws, but could only convert one to send the game to overtime.
The Patriots scored the first points of overtime, but Penn State responded with the next eight points to take a 78-72 lead with 2:37 to go. Habib hit a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to cut the lead back to two, but the Nittany Lions did not allow another Mason point en route to the overtime win.
PATRIOT POINTS
- Four players scored in double-figures: Paula Suárez (24), Zahirah Walton (24), Ta'Viyanna Habib (16) and Sonia Smith (13)
- In her final game as a Patriot, Jazmyn Doster led the team with seven rebounds and two blocks to go with three points, an assist and a steal
- Smith added four assists and three rebounds to her 13-point performance in her final game in the Green & Gold
- Mason won the turnover battle, 13-18
