HENRICO, Va. – Despite a valiant effort, the fourth-seeded George Mason women's basketball team fell to fifth-seeded Duquesne by the slimmest of margins in the second Quarterfinal of the day, 63-62.
 
Captains Paula Suárez and Sonia Smith led the way on offense for the Patriots (23-7), as Suárez scored a career-best 17 points on a personal-high seven field goals, including three three-pointers. Smith tallied her second-straight and eighth overall 20-point performance with 24 points to go with a team-high three assists.
 
The Dukes (20-11) used strong three-point shooting in the first half to take an early lead. They went 8-15 over the first two quarters to lead at the half. Duquesne built an 18-4 lead with 4:30 remaining in the first before Mason began climbing back. The Patriots ended the quarter on an 11-3 run to cut the Dukes' lead to just six after the first. Both teams scored 13 points in the second quarter, with each making three shots from deep as the Dukes took a 34-28 lead into the half.
 
Mason slowly chipped away in the third quarter, led by nine points from Smith. Down seven, Smith scored five-straight points to cut the lead to two with 2:45 remaining in the frame. Suárez tied the game at 47-all, but the Dukes hit two free throws to regain the lead. However, two fouls on Duquesne saw Smith with three-of-four free throw opportunities to give the Patriots their first lead of the afternoon. Duquesne responded with two more free throws of its' own to lead by one point with one frame to go.
 
The teams traded the lead four times throughout the first half of the fourth quarter, but Suárez drained her third trey of the day with 3:55 remaining to give Mason momentum and tie the game at 59-all. Jazmyn Doster then grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a layup to give the Patriots a two-point lead, but four-straight from the Dukes saw them pull ahead again. Despite a valiant effort, Mason was unable to find the tying points, and Duquesne came away with the 63-62 win.
 
PATRIOT POINTS

• Rookie of the Year Zahirah Walton grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with seven points and two steals
• The Patriots forced Duquesne into 18 turnovers, compared to their nine. Ta'Viyanna Habib led the way with a game-high three steals to go with nine points.
• Jazmyn Doster pulled down six rebounds to go with five points and a block for the Green & Gold

 
UP NEXT
The Patriots will await their postseason fate, with Selection Sunday set for Sunday, March 17.