Pure Domination: Patriots Start Road Swing with Loss

Coach Jeri Porter has always preached the full 40 to her team. This means playing a full game of basketball with intensity and hustle until the final whistle. In tonight’s game against Ohio that game plan fell to the wayside, as Mason lasted only four minutes. After establishing an early 8-0 lead over the Bobcats, the Patriots quit. Mason (7-4, 0-1) watched Ohio (7-7,0-0) take complete control as they dominated play in route to a 75- 59 win on their home court.

Ohio never looked back as they embarked on a 19-4 run, to flip the script and give their team a seven point lead after trailing earlier in the game. They weren’t finished, as they went on another run this time 11-4 to force a Mason timeout. The Bobcats would close out the half with a 40-23 advantage, all due in part to their strong shooting, posting a 50 % first half average.

The second half was much of the same as Ohio stepped on the gas building their biggest lead of the game at 23 points on a Mariah Byard 3-pointer. The Bobcats used the 3-point shot all day to keep the Patriots off balance, connecting on five 3-pointers and shooting over 40% from the arc.

Mason never got closer than 13 points as they were put away for good. In the game the Bobcats connected on 28 field goals, a season high. Their 52.8 % field goal percentage is the best of the year as they were averaging just 36 % on the season. Junior Ashley Fowler poured in a season high 13 points, going 4-4 from the free throw line.

Ohio played an all around basketball game, as even the defense was dominate securing eight steals and three blocks. There wasn’t much for George Mason to take form this game, as they were beaten in every statistical category but rebounding.

On an individual note George Mason guard Taleia Moton remained hot, as she put up 25 points to go along with three rebounds. She remains in the top 15 in the nation in scoring. Her counterpart guard Raneeka Saunders continued to dominate the glass, pulling down seven rebounds. The 5 ft 6 guard leads Mason in rebounding at 6.8 per game.

The Patriots will be back in action on Monday, as they welcome in the New Year with a game against Norfolk State. They will look to get their first win of this three game road swing, tipoff is at 6pm.

Keith's Keys to the Game: Mason vs. Ohio

Mason is on the road Thursday to battle against the Bearcats of Ohio University. The Bearcats(6-7), come into tonight's game having alternated wins and losses in their past 4 games (2-2). Mason on the other hand, comes in having snapped a two game losing streak against GW last week, improving to 7-3 overall.

What to Watch For:  1) Home Atmosphere: Ohio comes in with a below average  record on the year so far, but the Bearcats have been strong at home in Athens. Five of their six wins this season have come at home, and by an average margin of victory of 14.8 points per game. It will be important for Mason to come out hot on the road, and not to be rattled in a hostile arena and on along road trip. In the past Mason has struggled on the road, but so far in 3 contests,  the Patriots have come away victorious in 2 of them.

2) Getting to the Free Throw Line: Mason this year has struggled to get to the  foul stripe, and are not getting the easy opportunities/cashing in on easy chances for points. On the season Mason is only getting to the line and making 11.7 FT's per game, and only as a team  hitting FT's at 66%.  Ohio on the other hand averages 14.6  made free throw attempts per game, and is hitting 71% as a team from the stripe. In Mason's last game against GW, in which they got to the line 27 times, they allowed the Colonials to claw back from a 16 point deficit because of their inability to shoot free throws in the second half. The Patriots went 7 of 17 from the FT line in the second half,and it almost cost them the game down the stretch. I see this being very important in this game, as well as a key in whether Mason is able to ice games away in the future or if it will be plagued by dismal free throw shooting all season long. Players like Rahneeka Saunders (54% FT) and Evelyn Lewis (22 % FT) who routinely get to the line because of the way they drive the ball down low, need to step their game up in big road games such as this one.

3) Rebounds--Offensive: In the Ohio Bearcats 7 losses this season, almost all of them have been in some way related to their lack of rebounding, and the rebounding deficit in most cases reflected the margin of defeat. It will be important for Mason to dominate the boards much like they did against GW, where they had +17 rebounding margin and four players with 7 or more rebounds. This intensity on the glass will lead to the easy second chance points Mason was able to get against the Colonials, and should be something they should try to exploit against a Ohio , team that seems to let down in the second half. Ohio is being outscored by a total of forty-four  points(-44) in the second half on the season thus far, while Mason is +27 in the same category. Mason will have to be on the look out for Ohio's Tenishia Benson, who averages over 7 rebounds and 13 PPG as a guard, and will be looking to improve their rebounding output to ensure a victory got the Bearcats.

Tune in to the GoMason Digital Network on WGMURadio.com to listen to the latest action on Mason women's basketball. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm at the Convocation Center in Athens,Ohio. Mason won last years first ever meeting between the two schools 69-53 at the Patriot Center.