, Va.—George Mason guard Rashaua Hobbs drilled a 3-pointer with 1:19 to play to seal the victory for the host Patriots, who defeated UMBC, 58-57, Wednesday afternoon at the Patriot Center. The Retrievers (1-4) have dropped four in a row, while George Mason (2-2) wins its second straight game.
UMBC sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy scored a team-high 17 points, including nine in the final 5:40 of the game, despite spending most of the second half on the bench with four fouls.
The Patriots scored the first six points of the game and held an 11-4 advantage at the 12:22 mark before the Retrievers, who made just three of their first 20 shots, went on a 12-3 run sparked by six points by junior center MacKenzie Butler to take a 16-14 lead with 5:13 to play in the first half.
George Mason led 21-20 at intermission. The Retrievers shot just 23.3 percent (7-for-30) in the first half, including 0-for-14 from 3-point range, while the Patriots went 8-for-23 (.348) from the floor and just 1-for-7 from long distance. Butler led all scorers with eight points, while senior guard Morgan Hatten posted a game-high six rebounds.
The Patriots opened the second half on a 10-3 scoring spurt to open an eight-point lead at 31-23. After the Retrievers closed it back to two points, 31-29, with a 6-0 run, George Mason took a game-high 10-point advantage, 39-29, on back-to-back 3-pointers by Latisha Wade and Tayler Wejnert.
Down by eight with 11:15 to play, the Retrievers scored nine in a row and took a 44-43 lead on a layup by Hatten at the 8:36 mark. But six straight points by Wade gave the Patriots a 49-44 advantage with 6:03 left.
After spending the last six minutes on the bench in foul trouble, Cassidy returned after a timeout and scored five seconds in to cut the Retrievers' deficit to three points, then scored four more in a row before junior guard Chantay Frazier's layup at the 2:17 mark gave UMBC its final lead, 52-51.
Nearly a minute later, Hobbs sunk a 3-pointer to put the Patriots back on top, 54-52, and Brittany Poindexter hit a jumper with 22 seconds to go for a four-point advantage. After the teams each made two free throws, Cassidy nailed her only trifecta of the game, giving the Retrievers one last hope with five seconds to play.
But that hope ended when a long inbounds pass gave UMBC no chance to foul to get the ball back, and the final seconds ticked off the clock with the ball in the Patriots' hands.
In addition to Cassidy's 17 points, Butler scored 10, while Hatten and Frazier added nine apiece. Hatten also posted a team-high eight rebounds, while Butler had seven. Wade scored a game-high 19 points for George Mason, while Poindexter scored 12 and added eight boards.
The Retrievers shot 32.3 percent (20-for-62) in the game, including 40.6 percent (13-for-32) in the second half and just 14.8 percent (4-for-27) from 3-point range. The Patriots shot 50 percent (13-for-26) in the second half and 42.9 percent (21-for-49) in the game.
George Mason held a 39-32 rebounding advantage. The Retrievers forced 16 Patriot turnovers while committing just seven of their own, including only one in the second half.
The Retrievers return to action Saturday, Nov. 24, when they host in-state rival Mount St. Mary's at the RAC Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 4:30 p.m., but the time is subject to change due to the earlier UMBC/George Washington men's basketball game, which begins at 2 p.m.
