PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle women's basketball team (5-9, 0-2 A-10) couldn't sustain a strong start in a 69-56 loss to George Mason (13-3, 2-0 A-10) on Wednesday night at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center.
 
The Explorers led for much of the opening quarter before the Patriots took the advantage in the 2^nd quarter, eventually settling for a 28-24 lead at the break. George Mason extended the lead to double digits midway through the 3^rd quarter and were able to keep the Explorers at bay for the duration.
 
Amy Griffin paced the Explorers in scoring with 14 points, including 10 in the second half while Sofilia Ngwafang also scored in double figures with 11 points. Ashanti Freeland grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds to go with four points.
 
George Mason's Nicole Cardaño-Hillary led all scorers with 24 points while Natalie Butler posted her 15th straight double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds.
 
The Explorers will look to pick up their first conference victory on Saturday when they visit the Richmond Spiders at 6 p.m.