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George Mason University’s women’s basketball team is headed to the Division I NCAA tournament for the first time in program history, while the men narrowly missed their own March Madness berth after a heartbreaking conference-final loss.
The women secured an automatic bid by winning the Atlantic 10 tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Patriots went 3-0 during the tournament, improving their season record to 27-5.
In the March 9 championship game, George Mason defeated St. Joseph’s 73-58. Paula Suarez scored 23 points, while Zahirah Walton added 19 points and eight rebounds.
A dominant third quarter proved decisive. The Patriots outscored St. Joseph’s 26-12 in the period to take control.
George Mason reached the final after routing St. Louis University 87-57 in the quarterfinals and beating Davidson College 63-50 in the semifinals.
The Patriots received the No. 11 seed in Region I of the NCAA tournament. They are scheduled to face Florida State, which enters at 23-8, in a first-round game March 22 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Walton leads George Mason with averages of 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in steals and ranks second in assists and blocks.
Kennedy Harris averages 13.9 points, while Suarez contributes 11.9 points and has a team-leading 139 assists. Nalani Kaysia averages 7.5 points and a team-best 9.8 rebounds, and Ta’Viyanna Habig adds 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Louis Volker, Nekhu Mitchell, Page Greenberg and Jada Brown have also been key contributors.
Men denied after final shot rolls away
George Mason’s men finished the Atlantic 10 tournament 2-1, but their bid for an automatic NCAA tournament invitation ended with a 68-63 loss to Virginia Commonwealth University in the March 16 championship game.
The Patriots, who finished 26-8, had an opportunity to tie the game and force overtime in the closing seconds. Forward Zach Anderson attempted a 3-pointer, but the shot spun off the rim.
George Mason did not receive an at-large NCAA bid, becoming the first 26-win team to miss the national tournament on Selection Sunday during the Atlantic 10’s 49-year history.
The Patriots had advanced to the conference final by rallying from a halftime deficit to defeat George Washington 80-65 in the quarterfinals, then leading for most of a 74-68 semifinal victory over St. Joseph’s.
Jalen Haynes scored 24 points against George Washington. Jared Billups added 18, Darius Maddox and K.D. Johnson each scored 11, and Brayden O’Connor finished with 10.
Harris scored 24 points in the semifinal, followed by Maddox with 19 and Johnson with 12. In the final against VCU, Haynes led George Mason with 17 points and Maddox scored 12.
Although the NCAA tournament passed them over, the Patriots accepted a place in the 32-team National Invitational Tournament. George Mason will host Samford, which enters at 22-10, in a first-round game March 26 at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.