When Mason forward Janaa Pickard hit a jumper 17 seconds into the Patriot's first game of the regular season against Oakland it appeared to set the tone that GMU was going to be a different team on the road this season. Grabbing only four wins away from the Patriot Center last year, Mason had an opportunity to improve on that record right off the bat. But the mood quickly turned sour when it took another five minutes for Mason to score again in a half that found them unable to get anything going as they found themselves stymied by the Golden Grizzlies. While Mason only shot 25% from the floor in that first half, Oakland saw everything go in as they shot 52% from the field including five three-pointers. It was a first half to forget for Mason as they trailed 37-20 at the break.
The offense picked up quite a bit in the second half of play, as the Patriots found their way into a groove. Amber Easter picked up her first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds. Pickard finished strong as well, finishing with 10 points. The rebounding improved mightily as well as the Patriots grabbed one more rebound than the Golden Grizzlies, 38-37. Oakland was led by Annemarie Hamlet who finished with 19 points and 4 assists. It may have just been those opening game jitters that kept GMU cold to start, but a 38-25 scoring margin in the second half will hopefully propel Mason heading into their second game.
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