Mason Women Host Reigning A-10 Champion Fordham in Nationally Televised Matchup

We’re baaaaack with our regularly scheduled coverage! Thanks for bearing with me during Winter Break: it’s good to be back in Fairfax!

Today, George Mason (7-10, 1-3) welcomes reigning Atlantic 10 champion Fordham (10-6, 2-1) to EBA in the first nationally televised Mason Women’s home game since last January!

What You’ve Missed During Winter Break

The last time we were in EBA covering games was December 4 against Bucknell. For those who have some catchup to do, here a quick rundown:

After falling to Bucknell 64-51 in their last game before Winter Break, Mason snapped their losing skid with a convincing 67-58 win at Navy on December 19. Two days later, in their last home game of the calendar year, the Patriots dropped a tough battle with Howard, 86-75.

Eight days after that, the Patriots traveled up to Delaware where they fell 63-44 in a lackluster showing. But boy did Mason bounce back after that.

In their final non-conference game of the year, George Mason gutted out a 59-58 win at SMU on New Years Eve. After trailing by nine points with 1:32 left, Camarie Gatling posted up for a go-ahead bucket in the waning seconds to secure the win for the Green & Gold!

CAMARIE GATLING CALLED GAME pic.twitter.com/EteKnhjRpd

— GMU Giant Killer (@GMUGiantKiller) December 31, 2019

Mason kicked off conference play with a strong 70-60 win over Revolutionary Rival George Washington. Tamia Lawhorne WENT OFF for a career-high 22 points, including 15 in the third quarter alone:

.@LawhorneTamia was on FIRE in the third quarter! 🔥

The freshman scores 1⃣5⃣ pts in the period with 3⃣ treys #GetPatriotic pic.twitter.com/kywPLnXNhv

— Mason Women’s Basketball (@MasonWBB) January 4, 2020

I then traveled from Louisville to meet up with the team in Dayton to see Mason go toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the A-10 on the road.

📍Dayton, OH @MasonWBB takes on Dayton in their first road test of conference play. #A10WBB #GetPatriotic pic.twitter.com/ppZJfQhnyE

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) January 8, 2020

Though they came up just short, they battled for 40 minutes, falling narrowly 59-55.

Unfortunately, Mason laid an egg at St. Bonaventure, falling to a team that entered the game 3-12.

I think the biggest lesson from today’s Mason WBB game is there are no easy games in the A-10. St. Bonaventure came into today 3-12, and has taken it to Mason today. Every single game from here on out is gonna be a dogfight and you have to be ready for that. #A10WBB #GetPatriotic

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) January 12, 2020

Finally, in their last time out, George Mason battled back from an early deficit against Davidson, pulling as close as five points down, before falling 76-69. It’s hard not to be optimistic about how they played on Wednesday though. Marika Korpinen had a career-high 20 points, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary added in 22 more points, and the Patriots out-scored the Wildcats 41-37 in the second half after being out-scored 39-28 in the first.

Which brings us to today.

Here what the A-10 standings look like currently:

Updated @A10WBB Standings:
5-0 Davidson
4-0 UMass
–
4-0 Dayton
4-0 VCU
2-1 Fordham
2-2 Saint Louis
2-2 Rhode Island
2-3 Duquesne
–
1-3 George Mason
1-3 George Washington
1-3 St. Bonaventure
1-4 Saint Joseph's
0-4 Richmond
0-4 La Salle#A10WBB

— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) January 18, 2020

Mason has some work to do to get back in the top-eight (which ensure a home game in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament). Aside from their loss at St. Bonaventure, since New Years Eve, this team has been playing much improved basketball. More players are stepping up on a nightly basis, whether it be Tamia Lawhorne or Marika Korpinen.

One game at a time, though. Let’s look at today’s opponent.

Scouting Fordham

Interestingly enough, these two teams have already shared three common opponents in conference play, with both teams beating George Washington and falling to Davidson. The only difference is Mason lost on the road to St. Bonaventure while Fordham beat the Bonnies handily at home.

The Rams are led by redshirt-junior Bre Cavanaugh who leads the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game, and is tied for second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring with Mason’s own Nicole Cardaño-Hillary. Cavanaugh also averages 6.3 boards per game and has recorded 34 assists and 24 steals. Similarly to Nicole, Bre was voted to A-10 Preseason All-Conference First Team.

Kendell Hermaia is second in the A-10 in rebounds, averaging 8.6 boards per game. She is also second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game.

The Rams have two additional players averaging double-figures in scoring, Anna Dewolfe with 12.8 points and Kaitlyn Downey with 11.1 points. The entire rest of the team (10 players) combines to score just 11.1 points per game.

Fordham has had an interesting up-and-down season thus far. They began the season 0-4, with loses to Notre Dame, Penn State, Villanova and Columbia. The Rams then went on a winning streak, closing out non-conference play with six straight wins, and eight of nine overall to end the calendar year. Their only loss during that span was to #24 Arkansas in a neutral site game in the Bahamas. In conference play, Fordham has beaten St. Bonaventure and George Washington, both at home, and lost their only conference road game at Davidson.

This is gonna be a tough game from Mason, but if they play the way they did in the second half against Davidson, the Patriots will give Fordham a game and might just steal this one.

Tipoff from EBA today is at 4:00 and the game will be broadcast on CBSSN.