WASHINGTON DC- One of George Mason’s biggest struggles this season has been the ability to string four quarters together. That once again came to bite them today at George Washington at the Patriots fell 62-57 to the Colonials.
It was a back and forth affair throughout, with the Patriots leading by as many as eight points in the first half, and took a five point lead into the break.
In the second half, George Washington fought back, out-scoring Mason 35-25, including 21-12 in the fourth quarter alone. Out of halftime, Mason really struggled, and looked somewhat flat, but Marika Korpinen engineered a personal 8-2 run to the end the quarter, giving the Patriots a 45-41 lead with just 10 minutes left.
.@MarikaKorpinen Queen of Finland or Queen of Clutch???
— GMU Giant Killer (@GMUGiantKiller) February 15, 2020
But in the fourth quarter, GW really put down the hammer, jumping out to a 10-2 run to begin the frame, take a lead that Mason would not be able to reclaim. Despite all that, George Mason had their chances down the stretch. Tied with 30 seconds left, Tori Hyduke scored on a floater to give the Colonials a 59-57 advantage with 19.8 left. Out of a timeout, George Mason turned to Nicole Cardaño-Hillary to for offense, but ultimately, she wasn’t able to get a great look. Still, there was time on the clock, and when put on the free throw line, George Washington actually missed a few free throws, but managed to grab the offensive rebound each time.
Final | GW 62 Mason 57.
Colonials out-score Mason 21-12 in the fourth quarter, proving to be the difference. @nikkich_14 led Mason with 19, @MarikaKorpinen added in 18 points. #GetPatriotic— Daniel Frank (@n1a2v3y4) February 15, 2020
The story of this game really has been what has plagued Mason all season. They couldn’t string four quarters together, and they didn’t have that third scorer in double figures. Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and Marika Korpinen pulled their weight as usual, scoring 19 points and 18 points respectively. Mason did have eight other players score, but no one scored more than four points.
The real killer stat was turnovers- George Mason had 18 of them.
Even the fact that the Patriot out-rebounded George Washington 41-35 wasn’t enough to make a difference, especially when the Colonials grabbed the final few boards of the game.
The Patriots are now mathematically eliminated from hosting a first round Atlantic 10 Tournament game. It would’ve been an uphill battle back as it was, but this loss seals Mason’s fate with just four games left in the regular season. There are now just four games left in the regular season: this Wednesday at home against Richmond, Saturday at Saint Joseph’s, the following Wednesday at VCU and home the following Saturday against La Salle.
