FAIRFAX, Va. - Leeza Burdgess recorded her third double-double in the last four games and the Explorers toppled George Mason 65-50 at the Patriot Center to jump out to a 2-0 Atlantic 10 record on Saturday evening.

Burdgess scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds, just five days after setting a career high with 19 against Binghamton.

Micahya Owens led all scorers with 17 points and added six rebounds. Alicia Cropper chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and a game-high four assists to help improve the squad to 7-7 overall and a 2-0 start in Atlantic 10 play.

Taylor Brown led the Patriots (6-9, 0-2 Atlantic 10) with 12 points, and Janaa Pickard added a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. George Mason is still seeking its first conference win since joining the Atlantic 10 this season.

The win, which moves the Explorers to .500, was the fourth in the last five games and caps a six-game road swing. The squad has been on the road since Dec. 28, spanning the Dartmouth tournament, Rhode Island game and tonight's George Mason contest.

"It was a grind," Head Coach Jeff Williams said. "We've been on the road [for] eight days, we had to bus it down from Rhode Island and we couldn't get a good practice in at George Mason. The kids definitely had adversity. That's a part of life, and they stepped it up."

Though limited to 35.0 percent from the field, the Explorers played stifling defense against the Patriots. The Explorers forced 20 Patriot turnovers and kept the home squad off kilter for the majority of the game. They held Mason's three-point-shooting duo of Sandra Ngoie and Taylor Brown without a trey in the game, forcing the Patriots to an 0-6 showing from long range.

The Explorers, who were up 8-6 at the time, mounted a 15-2 run after the first media timeout at 15:12. Cropper scored back-to-back buckets including a three to spark the run. Lee added all four of her points, and Siobhan Beslow and Jasmine Alston added scores.

A 7-2 Patriot spurt brought the Explorers' lead down to single digits at 23-15 at the 8:18 mark, but the Explorers responded to push the lead back to as many as 16 in the first half at 33-17 with 3:18 on the clock.

Pickard broke up the Explorer momentum with a basket at 1:43 and Ngoie got another one with five seconds on the clock to draw within 12, for what appeared to be a 33-21 halftime score.

However, Alston launched a nearly half-court heave at the buzzer, which banked off the backboard and swished in for a gorgeous shot and the 36-21 score at the break.

The Explorers pushed their lead to as many as 20 on three separate occasions in the second half, the last coming at 53-33 with 6:15 on the clock. This was despite the squad going without a field goal from 16:15 to 6:58. They offset seven Patriot points with five free throws in that span.

The pesky Patriot squad wouldn't go quietly, mounting a 15-3 run to bring the score back within single digits for the first time since 8:18 of the first half, capping that run with a Reana Mohamed layup to draw within eight (56-48) with 1:31 on the clock. The Explorers, who had struggled at the line throughout the majority of the game, pushed the lead back to 15 thanks to making 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch. Cropper added a layup with six seconds left for a 17-point advantage before Brown scored a jumper with one second remaining for the final 65-50 score.

"It feels good to get a win, this is our second win on the road in the A-10," Williams added. "We're starting to play as a team. This is giving us momentum, we're looking forward to playing VCU this week, so I'm excited. I'm excited about how the team is coming along. These are two huge road wins, and there is no replacement for road wins. Now [we] just have to take care of home [games]."

The Explorers will get that chance when they return to Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday (1/8) for a 7 p.m. contest against VCU. They remain home through the weekend, hosting Massachusetts on Saturday (1/11) at 1 p.m.