Mason Gets Shell-Shocked, Loses to #4 Maryland 50-78

For the first few minutes of the game their was hope that this was the Mason team that could be a big time contender, both in and out of the CAA, but against #4 Maryland that was not the case.

Mason(6-3) was able to stay with #4 Maryland(11-0) for the first 5 minutes or so but then the Terps, lead by their preseason Wooden-Top 30 player nominee Alyssa Thomas and Lynetta Kizer,  surged to a 35-13 margin with just over 5 minutes remaining. The sophomore Thomas would lead Maryland with 18 points on 7-13 shooting for the day. She was an unstoppable force and really showed the weakness of the Mason defense through out the season so far, down low in the trenches.

Almost at will and in transition Maryland was able to out-run the Mason defense and pound the ball inside for easy baskets. Time after time Mason would miss a shot, and Maryland would then beat every player on the Patriots squad  up the court. Maryland look like a much faster, stronger, and more fierce team on the afternoon. Even when up by 20+ points, the Terps continued to push the ball up the court and slam the ball down the Mason defense's throat. No matter half court or transition sets, Mason was not able to decipher the Terps offensive attack or find a way to slow it down.

On the night for Mason, Taleia Moton lead with 16 points on 6 of 17 shots. The only other Mason player  in double digits was Janaa Pickard with 12. Evelyn Lewis was made totally ineffective by the Maryland defense, who were able to force bad shots without getting fouls called. Lewis went 0 for 6  from the field with ZERO points. Mason was only able to get to the foul line 10 times the whole game, 3 times in the first half, but on the flip side shot 100% from the stripe.

On the faces of the Mason players, you could see the look of frustration as shots weren't dropping and fouls weren't being called. But overall this is why Maryland was #4 in the country, and they looked and played like it.

My final analysis came when Mason was down by  36 points  with just over 2 minutes to go. I started to keep fresh scorecard  for the final 2 minutes to see if Mason continued to play hard to cut down the lead  into the 20's.  A blowout loss will show the character of a team, and show the chemistry of a squad and its coaching staff. Maryland had in their last game blown out a opponent by 70 points, so it would be Mason's job to play with heart or crumble under the weight of competition.

 Fortunately for Mason fans, the Patriots showed they have a lot of heart. The Patriots would finish the last two minuets on a 11-1 run and  even with some of the Terps starters out,  they still showed great defense and were able to cut the deficit to the 20's.

Mason(6-3) is on its first losing streak of the season, having lost two in a row. They will look to break the streak on Thursday January 22nd against GW at the Patriot Center. Tip is at 3 pm and can you can listen live at wgmuradio.com.