FAIRFAX, VA- Some days everything goes your way, and other days, you just can’t get shots to fall. That’s somewhat of a summation of this past week for George Mason, after taking down UMass on Wednesday, and falling today to Saint Louis, 64-51.
The Patriots did not have a great start to this game, trailing by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, before a 12-0 run sparked by a couple of Marika Korpinen threes saw Mason come back and tie the game just before halftime.
But the third quarter was not kind to Mason. After Nicole Cardaño-Hillary hit a foul-line jumper with 7:32 left in the quarter to make it a one-point game, the Patriots’ offense would dry up completely. Not only did George Mason not score a field goal the rest of the quarter, that drought would extend into the fourth quarter, for a total of 10:10 between made field goals. During that time, Saint Louis went on an 18-4 run to put the game out of reach.
“Another one of those roller coaster kind of games,” said Nyla Milleson postgame. “…To keep us off that roller coaster, you just have to stay locked in and stay disciplined on both ends of the floor and not let that moment shift so far, and it did a couple of times tonight.”
Mason has shown that when they can defend well and find offense consistently, they can compete with anyone on their schedule. But when they play as they did today, it’s not difficult to see how they lost eight in a row prior to UMass.
“We’ve shown that if we can stay locked in and stay disciplined defensively, we can be a good defensive team. I think we’re a dangerous team if there be a game we could all hit on the same night offensively,” said Milleson.
Fortunately for George Mason, they have time to lick their wounds and get things right. They have a bye week coming up, and don’t have another game until Saturday just down the road in Foggy Bottom against George Washington.
“Much needed bye week, we’ll be able to get a couple of days of rest and recovery and break down some things in some extended practice time.”
We will be at the Smith Center with the team, so be sure to look for our coverage for that game. It’s gut-check time, folks. Time to get this ship righted and go win some ballgames.
