PHILADELPHIA - Atlantic 10 leading scorer Taylor Brown gave La Salle fits throughout the game, but none as big as the buzzer-beating layup she converted as the Explorers dropped their second straight, 73-71, to George Mason at Tom Gola Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Finally breaking a five-point barrier that seemed to elude the Explorers in the final minutes of the game, La Salle knotted the game at 71-71 on a terrific
Amy Griffin layup with six seconds remaining. Brown then raced down the court and got a shot off before the buzzer that made it in for the final score.
Alicia Cropper led the Explorers (10-6, 1-2 Atlantic 10) with 16 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Micahya Owens added 11 points, along with four assists and three steals.
Siobhan Beslow was the third Explorer in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, while adding three offensive rebounds.
Brown led all scorers with 22 points along with four assists, while being held without a three in the game. Sandra Ngoie and Jasmine Jackson finished with 16 apiece, and Kristi Mokube added 10 for the Patriots (10-6, 2-1 Atlantic 10).
Khristin Lee put together a solid game, chipping in six points, pulling down seven rebounds, dishing out five assists and grabbing three steals.
Lisa Mintzer tied for team-high rebounding honors by tying her career high of seven boards. She added two blocked shots and a steal in 17 minutes of play.
George Mason got out to a nine-point 29-20 lead midway through the first half, and the Explorers found themselves playing catch-up for the majority of the game. They took a brief 30-29 lead thanks to a 10-0 run over a four-minute span, but the Patriots finished out the half with an 8-2 run to take a 37-32 halftime lead.
The Patriots went ahead as many as 10 at 46-36 with 15:30 left in the game. The Explorers responded with a 14-4 run to knot the game at 50 with 11:04 left; however, the Patriots once again had an answer with another 8-2 spurt to go up 58-52.Â
After a
Jasmine Alston three-point play drew the Explorers within one at 58-57, the Patriots went on another 7-0 spurt to push the lead back to eight. The Explorers got back within five on three separate occasions in the last five minutes but could not break that barrier until an Owens layup in the paint with 1:45 remaining cut the deficit to 71-68.
Owens grabbed a big steal at the othe rend, and made one of two free throws with 53 ticks left to put the score at 71-69. Lee grabbed a big defensive rebound on the other end on a missed Jackson three-pointer. After an Explorer timeout, the ball was inbounded to Griffin who knotted the score at 71-71. Brown's run and buzzer-beater squashed overtime hopes in the final 73-71 tally.
The Explorers had a better shooting game today than the previous few, going 44.3 percent from the field. However, they struggled from three, hitting just five of 20 attempts. Mason went 48.3 percent overall, and matched the Explorers' with a 5-for-20 three-point effort. Both squads made 12 free throws each.
The Explorers won the battle of the boards, 37-34, including 13 on the offensive glass. They forced 17 Patriot turnovers, and turned those into 25 points.
The squad heads out on the road for a two-game swing through New England. The Explorers face Massachusetts on Thursday night (1/15) at the Mullins Center, and then head over to Rhode Island on Sunday (1/18) for a 2pm tipoff.
