Mason Drops Season Opener Despite Effort

Story by Broadside Staff Writer Tim Blank

Despite an 11-point loss to the Bucknell University Bison on Friday 62-51, many of the coaches and players were very much optimistic after the performance that was given against the defending Patriot League champions.

“We told the kids in the locker room after the game, when we were fresh, it looked really good,” said new head coach Jeri Porter.

In truth, the first half gave those in attendance glimpses of what may be to come for the future of the women’s basketball team. Two separate 9-2 runs in the first half helped the Patriots to a seven-point lead, their biggest of the night, with 5:01 left in the first half. Despite it being erased by a 16-4 Bucknell run to close the half, with a 10-2 run in the last 1:50, Porter finds herself pleased, especially with a team that played only seven players.

“We [set] ourselves a goal of grabbing 40 rebounds, we ended up with 41, we [set] ourselves a goal of getting at least 12 offensive rebounds, we got 18,” said Porter.

Although they allowed 22 points by Bucknell senior guard Amanda Brown, 12 of those coming from three-point range, Mason did not allow any other Bison player to score more than 12. Not only that, the defense played tough against the Bison, quite frequently getting them towards the end of the 30-second shot clock in much of their offensive possessions.

“The key was how aggressive and how hard we played, we were able to push them out and forced them to keep passing the ball around the perimeter, and that way it was tough for them to get a shot in the post,” said senior forward Whitney Ward who scored a career high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds during the game.

Improvements can definitely be made, especially in passing on offense, as Mason only recorded two assists the entire game, one in each half. But another major reason that the team seemed to be a bit overwhelmed was lack of depth on the bench. Only two players on the entire active roster were substituted in during the game, with two players redshirted because of a transfer and one other suspended for violation of team rules, the women’s team had very little to turn to in order to give girls breaks.

“Once we get more bodies available to us, people will be able to get more rest,” said Ward.

One of the bright spots in the game was the collegiate debut of freshman forward Amber Epps. One of her first plays after being substituted in the first half, she made an aggressive play on a rebound and ended up making both foul shots that followed the play. Epps, who played at established girls basketball powerhouse Forest Park in high school, spoke of the differences.

“It’s different, when I went to Forest Park, we were already established, here we’re rebuilding, we’re starting to get everything together so hopefully this program will get there,” said Epps.

With a roster that includes seven newcomers to the team, the future may indeed be looking bright for the woman’s basketball team. If they showed anything against Bucknell, it is that they will indeed be competitive this season.