Mason Women Defeat Saint Joseph’s, Clinch Top-7 Seed in A-10 Tournament

For just the second-time since joining the Atlantic 10, and for the second consecutive year, George Mason has clinched a top-8 seed in the A-10 Tournament. George Mason (16-12, 8-7) defeated Saint Joseph’s (11-17, 7-8) 68-59 on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to a tremendous fourth-quarter rally.

The first half of the game was a back and forth affair, which saw the Hawks jump to an early 7-2 lead before the Patriots had a 7-2 spurt of their own, tying the game at 9-9. Though George Mason struggled on the glass in the first half, Jacy Bolton grabbed 5 of her 11 total rebounds in the first quarter alone, a period which the Hawks out-rebounded Mason 13-9. By halftime, Mason had grabbed a 26-25 lead, and had turned the ball over just 3 times. The Patriots would only turn the ball over 7 times the entire game- as season low, and the fewest in at least three years.

George Mason started the second half strong, and two Allie McCool free throws gave Mason a 35-29 lead, their largest of the game to that point. Then, Saint Joseph’s blitzed the Patriots for a 17-4 run, forcing a timeout with the score in the Hawks favor, 46-39. Yet somehow, this team did not crumble in the face of tremendous adversity. With so much on the line, and a home game in the A-10 Tournament at stake, the Patriots fought back.

Out of the timeout, Nyla Millseon drew up an ingenious play, which saw Sarah Kaminski throw a touchdown pass to the wide open Nicole Cardaño-Hillary for an easy layup. The ensuing possession saw Mason get a defensive stop, before Kaminski converted an and-1, and by the end of the quarter, Mason was within one. That to me, was the turning point of the game.

In the fourth quarter, the stars really began to shine. George Mason held Saint Joseph’s to just 21% shooting in the 4th, while shooting 60% themselves. They outscored the Hawks 21-11 in the final frame, and went 8-11 from the line to put the game away down the stretch. Sarah Kaminski hit a huge three, one of her four on the day. Camarie Gatling converted in the post on back-to-back possession which had the Hawks’ head coach Cindy Griffin curing in frustration. Jacy Bolton hit some enormous free throws to put the game out of reach, and to top it all off, Jewel Triggs and Casey Davis, the lone seniors on the team, got to finish their final regular season game at home on the court at EBA. That was  a special moment.

This is just a tremendous win for George Mason, right on the heels of that win over Dayton on Sunday. When I asked head coach Nyla Milleoson after the game about the mental toughness and tenacity of the team, this is what she had to say:

“The first thing it says it how much trust and how much togetherness this team has on and off the floor and I think that really, really shows…This team really takes ownership and accountability for themselves and for each other and I think that really, really showed in that fourth quarter.”

Furthermore, Milleson credited Camarie Gatling and Sarah Kaminski for stepping up in the huddle in the timeout during that 17-4 run, “from a leadership voice standpoint, I thought it really started with these two (Gatling and Kaminski).”

Looking ahead, Geoge Mason currently sits in 7th, but as Zach Hamilton pointed out to me, if Mason beats La Salle AND Saint Louis beats Dayton, the Patriots move into the 6-seed, by virtue of their head-to-head win on Sunday. This caught me off guard, as truth be told, I haven’t kept as close an eye on the top half of the standings. Here’s a look at the updated standings with one game remaining:

Updated #A10WBB Standings:
12-3 VCU
12-3 Fordham
–
10-5 Davidson
10-5 Duquesne
9-6 Saint Louis
9-6 Dayton
8-7 George Mason
7-8 Saint Joseph's
–
7-8 George Washington
6-9 UMass
5-10 Richmond
5-10 St. Bonaventure
3-12 Rhode Island
2-13 La Salle

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) February 28, 2019

Regardless of the outcome of the games on Saturday, George Mason is guaranteed to finish no worse than 7th place. They will host the A-10 First Round on Tuesday at noon (an early start because the men host VCU at 7:30). Mason finishes out the regular season at La Salle, who the Patriots beat 59-42 on Valentine’s Day. So plan ahead, take off work on Tuesday, and we’ll see you at EBA at noon for the A-10 Tounament!