Second Half Rally Falls Short

For the second straight game, the women’s basketball team fell short in an inspiring effort on the road.

Mason lost its seventh consecutive game and 11th overall road game in a 51-47 loss to the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Thursday night.

The Patriots dropped to 8-15 overall and 1-11 in the Colonial Athletic Association while the Seahawks improved to 8-15 overall and 3-9 in the conference.

In the first half, junior guard Brittany Poindexter led Mason with eight points on 4-of-9 shooting and grabbed four rebounds, and freshman forward Janaa Pickard and junior guard Ashleigh Braxton added four points apiece.

The team trailed 27-18 at halftime after shooting just 32.1 percent from the field.

Mason started the game down 5-4 at the 15:37 mark, but the Seahawks responded with a 9-0 run and eventually extended its lead to 15 late in the first half.

Down 25-10 at the point, the Patriots closed the half on an 8-2 run. Mason’s persistent run had gradually trimmed into the Seahawks’ lead; midway through the second half, Mason had trailed by just three points at 39-36.

The Seahawks scored the next six points, but Mason again mounted a comeback, cutting the lead to one with 51 seconds left after Poindexter laid up her game-high 15th point.

Held scoreless for the first 39 minutes in the game, Whitney Simmons hit a clutch 3-pointer to beat the shot clock buzzer. Simmons ultimately put the Patriots away for good, stealing the ball from junior forward/center Angelee LaTouche in the closing seconds.

In addition to shooting 7-of-16 from the field and tallying 15 points, Poindexter recorded a game-high three steals.

Freshman forward Amber Easter scored all of her 14 points in the second half.

The Patriots shot better in the second half, connecting on 12 of 28 shot attempts and additionally held the Seahawks to a 36.8 field goal percentage.

The team still struggled to generate points from the charity stripe, shooting just five free throw attempts as opposed to the Seahawks’ 22 free throw attempts.

Forward Brittany Blackwell was the only Seahawk to register double-digit points, scoring 11 points in the contest. Blackwell also grabbed eight rebounds.

Center Martha White added nine points and nine rebounds and blocked two shots in 27 minutes of play.

Coming off a tough loss to the Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday, surrendering a seven-point lead in the second half to fall 61-57, the Patriots had to overcome a 15-point deficit on Thursday against the Seahawks.

The Patriots have played better on the road as of late, getting a number of opportunities to win the game.

Nonetheless, the loss marks the Patriots’ 20th consecutive road loss dating back to last season.

Mason will once again get another crack at ending the streak as they take on the Hofstra Pride in Hempstead, N.Y. on Thursday.