Women's hoops cruises against William & Mary, 82-70

Christine Weithman (left) and Taleia Moton (right) were two of Mason's five players to score in double figures in their win over William & Mary Thursday night. Moton led all scorers with 28 points.

Fairfax, Va.– The George Mason women’s squad put their losing streak to an end on Thursday, defeating CAA rival William and Mary by a score of 82-70 in the Patriot Center.  The Patriots (8-9, 2-4) used their home court to their advantage as their second half surge put the Tribe (8-9,2-4) away, and are now back to their winning ways in dynamic fashion as they saw five players score in double digits.

In a game that record-wise had all the makings of an even matchup, it was quite the opposite in the first half.  William and Mary came out firing shooting 7-of-9 from the floor to take an early nine-point lead.  Mason head coach Jeri Porter quickly called a timeout, as she was visibly more than heated in the team huddle.

“The girls have to realize CAA basketball is a battle,” said Porter about the timeout.

Things didn’t change much, as the Tribe saw their senior point guard Katherine Dehenzel streak the floor for an easy bucket.  Dehenzel would finish the game with a double-double, 15 points to go along with 10 assists.
As the ten-minute mark approached, Mason would find some scoring of their own in the form of Christine Weithman.  The sophomore guard came off the bench to score seven straight points to cut the lead to single digits. 

But as William and Mary did for most of the game, they answered.  A Taysha Pye trip to the line would keep things at an arms distance, 30-22.  The Patriots would continue to fight until the buzzer as an old fashion three-point play by Weithman kept the score close; they would finish the half trailing 41-35.

Trailing at the half is not Mason’s forte, considering during their losing streak they were outscored 217-170 during second half play.  But a quick seven-point run to start the half changed that outlook quickly, as the lead was cut to just three. 

A Rachel McNair jumper at the 13-minute mark did the unthinkable; it gave the Patriots a second half lead.

That lead was the calling card for standout Mason guard Taleia Moton to take control.  A four-point swing by Moton on a three-point hack job gave new life into the Patriots.  An acrobatic layup by Moton and foul gave her a chance for a three-point play with under seven minutes to play. Moton would finish with a game-high 28 points.

A Janine Aldridge three-pointer cut the lead to four with under five to play, breathing life back into the Tribe. From that point on, the game became a free throw battle, as the Tribe were determined to make Mason earn it from the line.  The Patriots were up to the task as they would finish the game shooting 78 percent from the line, going 18-of-23 as they cruised to victory.

“It's funny, I was on the bus the other day and said to one of my coaches, ‘if we could go to the line every game and have 18 chances we would win a lot of games,’” Porter said.

This win marks the Patriots’ first against William and Mary since 2008, and their first win against a CAA rival since December 4. Mason will continue this three game home stand when they take on VCU Sunday, Jan. 22 at 2 p.m.