Welcome to #ToBeFrank: Daniel Frank’s hot takes, analysis and recap of today’s Mason game.
College basketball is back. First and foremost, we have that to be thankful for. Today, George Mason Women’s Basketball opened their season in Pittsburgh, PA with an opening day loss at Pitt, 72-57. Let’s talk a bit about today’s game.
The Good
Just by the numbers, losing by 15 points on the road against an ACC opponent is nothing to hang your head about. Especially after Mason trailed by 32 points at the start of the fourth quarter. The Patriots out-scored Pitt 26-9 in the final 10 minutes.
Daijah Jefferson is the real deal, and she’s just getting started. She posted a career-high 17 points today, along with five rebounds, three steals and one assist in 32 minutes played. She also hit 2 threes, and went 5-8 from the line.
Great move by @balleriq_ 🔥
She’s up to a career-high 17 points for the Patriots! pic.twitter.com/MG3GhkjH9C
— Mason Women’s Basketball (@MasonWBB) November 25, 2020
Speaking of the line, as a team, George Mason went 29-39 from the line today. Nyla Milleson has to be happy with 39 attempts, and 29 makes is at a 74% clip, which isn’t bad. Especially because they went 14-15 in the fourth quarter from the line.
Marika Korpinen added 10 points, along with seven rebounds, two assists in a team-high 34 minutes. It’s worth nothing that Marika started the game at point guard, a shift in position from her previous years at Mason.
Taylor Jameson started in her very first collegiate game. She posted 4 points, all from the foul line, and just two turnovers against a tough Pitt press.
Vanessa Laumbach didn’t see a ton of time, but her first collegiate basket was a three, which was a very pleasant surprise!
First career basket for @VanessaLaumbach! 👌👌#GetPatriotic pic.twitter.com/TSmVkfpApC
— Mason Women’s Basketball (@MasonWBB) November 25, 2020
Rachel Balzer also made her Mason debut today, recording 2 steals, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 17 minutes. She looked very poised playing in the 3-poisiton and taking a fair number of inbounds plays.
The Bad
Mason went 13:04 in the first half without a point. They went from being down 6-5 to 22-7. They effectively took themselves out of the game there. Though they did respond with a 12-4 run to close it in, they gave up a 7-0 run to end the half to trail 37-19 at the break.
Jazmyn Doster went down with an injury with 4:11 left in the fourth quarter, and did not return, although she did walk off the floor on her own and hopefully it wasn’t too serious. We’ll keep an eye on her on Sunday.
Mason got killed in the paint, getting outscored 38-14, and 22-4 in the first half.
Looking Ahead
Mason will have their home opener on Sunday against Navy at 2:00 in EBA. We will be there! 250 fans can be in attendance!
Mason Basketball tips off on Nov. 29! 🏀🎟️
Check out the latest update on box office hours & ticket information: pic.twitter.com/NQhXarOPR5
— EagleBank Arena (@eaglebankarena) November 25, 2020
