For the first time since the 1994-95 season, the George Mason Patriots participated in back to back overtime games. Mason split the two contests, first losing to Towson on Thursday 70-68, then beating Georgia State by the same score on Sunday: 70-68. The victory brought Mason to 7-8 in the CAA and 13-13 overall with three very tough games ahead: at Deleware, at VCU, and finally at home hosting JMU.
Thursday's game found Mason on the wrong end of a hot Tigers team, with Towson looking for their fourth straight victory. The Patriots started off slow, with two turnovers and a missed layup, before finding their groove with a Rahneeka Saunders jumper. Mason struggled with their turnovers throughout the game, finishing with 18. Christine Weithman gave the Patriots their first lead, 19-16, of the ball game with a three-ball with 8:54 left in the first half. Weithman finished with 9 points, hitting 3 of 3 from downtown.
Mason went on a 6-0 run to end the first half to give themselves a 34-30 lead at the break. Towson shot 36% from the floor in the first half (12-33), while Mason shot 47% (11-23). The Patriots kept things rolling in the second half, pushing their lead to 42-32 with an Amber Easter jumper. Suddenly something clicked in the Tigers, as they went on a 19-6 run over the next seven minutes to take back the lead 51-48 with 5:36 left in regulation. Towson was paced by the play of Krystal Parnell who finished with 18 points and 6 assists. Also vital for the Tigers offense was guard Tanisha McTiller, who had 16 points and 4 rebounds.
Mason went on a 6-0 run to end the first half to give themselves a 34-30 lead at the break. Towson shot 36% from the floor in the first half (12-33), while Mason shot 47% (11-23). The Patriots kept things rolling in the second half, pushing their lead to 42-32 with an Amber Easter jumper. Suddenly something clicked in the Tigers, as they went on a 19-6 run over the next seven minutes to take back the lead 51-48 with 5:36 left in regulation. Towson was paced by the play of Krystal Parnell who finished with 18 points and 6 assists. Also vital for the Tigers offense was guard Tanisha McTiller, who had 16 points and 4 rebounds.
The teams finished 59-59 to end regulation, and traded baskets throughout the first few minutes of the overtime period. Trailing by two, Evelyn Lewis hit a turn-around lay-up to knot the score up at 68 with 1:31 left.Mason's poor handling of the basketball ending up looming large, as a Mason turnover with 13 seconds left gave Towson the ball and the final possession. Sheree Ledbetter put back a missed Parnall jumper with two seconds left to give the Tigers their 70-68 victory. Evelyn Lewis and and Taleia Moton had 15 points apiece to lead the Patriots. Amber Easter added 9 points and 6 rebounds.
George Mason found themselves in a very similar game on Sunday against Georgia State at home. Another signature slow start for the Patriots was ended by a 10-0 run to give Mason the 16-6 advantage with 6:22 left in the first half. Taleia Moton and company pushed the lead up to 28-18 at the end of one half to play. Moton finished with a game-high 31 points. Georgia State's leading scorer was Cody Paulk, who had 18 points and 7 rebounds.
The Panthers took advantage of Mason turnovers to start the second half, cutting the score to 30-28 with with 18:13 left in regulation. Georgia State slowly worked up a lead, overtaking the Patriots 47-42 with 8:47 after two buckets from Paulk. Two free-throws from Moton tied things at 57-57 at the end of regulation. Taleia proved yet again her dominance, hitting the clutch free throws to give Mason the win with .1 seconds left. This was the 6th game this season in which Moton scored 30+ points.
Mason heads to Deleware on Thursday for a 7 pm tipoff.
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