George Mason University Athletic Department issued the following announcement on March 3
The George Mason women's basketball team's 2021-22 season came to close in the second round of the Atlantic 10 Women's Basketball Championships on Thursday night at CHASE Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del.
Mason could not overcome a hot-shooting performance by sixth-seeded Fordham, falling 66-50. The Rams made eight three-pointers (.421), including seven in the first half (.538).
Under first-year head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, Mason reached double-figure wins for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Patriots more than tripled their win total from a season ago, finishing 10-19 overall.
In addition, Mason earned its first Atlantic 10 Championship win since 2018, defeating Saint Louis 65-50 in the first round of the tournament. Mason was the first No. 14 seed to upset its opponent in the A-10 Championships, dating back to the league expansion in 2015.
Senior Amaya Scott scored a game-high 25 points. It marked the 64th double-digit scoring performance and 11th 20-spot of her career.
Coming with Coach Blair-Lewis from Bethune-Cookman, Scott played a pivotal role in the rebuild of the Patriot program. She led the team in scoring (15.8), field goal percentage (.453) and steals (35) this season. In her storied career, she finishes with 1,228 points, 649 rebounds and 130 assists.
Point guard Taylor Jameson added 10 points to cap off an impressive sophomore campaign.
Fordham jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after three Patriot turnovers and two Rams three-pointers. Fordham went on a 13-2 run over five minutes to lead after one quarter (24-6). The Rams scored 12 points from behind-the-arc while the Patriots shot just 14.3 percent from the floor (2-14).
The veteran Scott stepped up when the Patriots needed her. She scored seven points over three minutes in the second quarter (34-17). Jameson then hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 15 with 3:24 on the clock (34-19). Fordham's Kendall Heremaia made three three-pointers in the period as the Rams led by 22 at the break (43-21).
The Patriots pulled within 18 after an 8-0 run to end the third quarter, highlighted by six straight from Scott (55-37).
Mason chipped away at its deficit late in the fourth quarter, going on a 6-0 run with 4:55 remaining (61-48). The Patriots forced six Fordham turnovers over a five-minute stretch to cut their deficit to 11 (61-50) before falling 66-50 in the second round of the A-10 Championships.
Original source can be found here.
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