Feb. 22, 2009
FAIRFAX, Va. -- The George Mason Patriots pulled off the upset Sunday afternoon at the Patriot Center. The Patriots, who entered the game at 44-0 all-time against the Old Dominion women's baksetball team, picked up its first ever win over the 17-time Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) defending champions with a 63-57 win.
The loss dropped the Lady Monarchs to 14-11 overall and 9-6 in CAA action. The six losses are the most for the program since they joined the league in the 1991-92 season. The Patriots meanwhile improved to 4-22 overall and 2-13 in the CAA.
The Patriots led by as many as eight in the first half. After Mason's Brittney Wilkins sunk a jumper with 4:05 left in the half to give her George Mason squad a 28-20 edge, Old Dominion would hold the Patriots without a field goal the rest of the half while using a 10-2 run of their own to close out the opening stanza. The Lady Monarchs run helped to knot the score at 30-30 entering halftime.
The second half started with each team trading buckets, tying the score for a sixth time. However, it would the closest the Lady Monarchs would get the rest of the way. Mason's Brittany Eley put in two of her team-leading 16 points with 18:38 left in the game, starting a 12-1 Patriot run giving Mason an edge it would never lose en-route to its first ever win over Old Dominion.
With Mason ahead 49-37 with just over 10 minutes left, the Lady Monarchs made a move. Old Dominion made an 11-1 run capped by a lay-up by rookie Mairi Buchan (Stirlingshire, Scotland) that pulled the Lady Monarchs to within two, 50-48, as 6:03 remained in the game.
Over the game's final six minutes, the Patriots kept control of the lead by going 9-of-13 from the line and keeping possession of the ball with 14 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds from their owns misses at the rim. George Mason would end the game outrebounding the Lady Monarchs, 47-35, resulting in 20 second chance points for the Patriots.
For Old Dominion, the Lady Monarchs managed only two field goals over the same span with Jasmine Parker's (Norfolk, Va.) lay-up at the 3:26 mark being the final for Old Dominion. Parker's bucket had the Lady Monarchs trailing by three, 54-51, with 4:03 left in the contest.
The game remained in reach for Old Dominion at that point. Eugenia Broadus hit the first of two attempts from the charity stripe on the ensuing play for the Patriots and after missing the second shot, junior Jessica Canady (Williamsburg, Va.) hauled in the rebound as the Lady Monarchs raced down the court. Parker was fouled and went to the line hitting her first shot, but missing the second. Parker's free throw made it a three-point game for the Lady Monarchs as they trailed 57-54 with 1:54 left. However, the Lady Monarchs were unable to convert from the floor down the stretch as the Patriots maintained its composure by hitting their shots from the line.
The Lady Monarchs were led by Canady with her sixth double-double of the year. The junior Lady Monarch led her squad with 16 points and 11 boards. Parker was the only other Lady Monarch to reach double figures with 13 points.
Mason had three reach double digits led by the 16-point, 11-rebound effort of Brittany Eley. Brittany Poindexter came off the bench for 15 points as did Wilkins who captured 12 in the victory.
The Old Dominion women's basketball team has three more games left on the 2008-09 regular season slate. The Lady Monarchs return to action Thursday, February 26th hosting Towson at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.