Freshman guard Mary Amoateng (right) attempts a jump shot with a Saint Louis defender contesting. Amoateng broke out as a rookie, finishing third on the team in scoring with 8.5 ppg and stealing the ball 2.2 times a game. (Davon Marion / Fourth Estate)
Riding on Walton and Harris, the Patriots achieved a third straight 20-win season
BY PETER MAHLER, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
From the beginning, the expectations were sky high for the 2025-26 George Mason Women’s Basketball team.
Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis intentionally set them high.
“[You] plan to be a champion before the season starts… we made it very intentional of what the standard is; and it’s nothing short of being a champion,” she said.
Coming off a season where they won the A-10 and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time, the expectation was to repeat as champions and continue upon the winning culture brought in by Blair-Lewis when she was hired in 2021.
Juniors forward Zahirah Walton and guard Kennedy Harris — double-digit scorers in 2024-25 — had their best seasons yet; the star forward increased her scoring output from the year before (14.8 ppg) all the way to 18 ppg — good for second in the A-10.
Beside her, Harris elevated her game to a new level on both ends. She posted a career-high 14.1 ppg while leading the team with 2.2 steals per game. She and Walton combined to form a dynamic duo for the Patriots, with Walton playing as the ball-dominant slasher and Harris as the team’s defensive-minded floor general.
Junior forward Zahirah Walton (left) dribbles between the legs as a Saint Joseph’s defender bears towards her. Mason blew out the Hawks 85-59 on Feb. 25, and they carried that late season momentum into the A-10 tournament. (Davon Marion / Fourth Estate)
Mason’s season opened with a high-scoring heartbreaker, a 94-85 overtime loss to Temple despite a 31-point performance from Walton. The Patriots quickly shifted the narrative, however, reeling off four straight wins by an average of 22 points. That streak was punctuated by a miracle against Georgetown. After trailing the Hoyas by 14 to start the fourth quarter, Harris buried a clutch jumper with 12 seconds left to force overtime and secure a stunning comeback victory.
The Patriots struggled against a challenging non-conference slate, exemplified by a blowout loss to Maryland, losses to Murray State, Ole Miss, Liberty and Princeton. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, Mason went 3-5, and they sat at a record of 7-6 — not losing for a month after that.
Mason rattled off nine straight victories to start the calendar year, finishing with a perfect record in January in a domination of their conference — each win came against the A-10 by an average margin of 11 points.
The vibes were up until the streak ended against Richmond (10-1 in the A-10 at the time), who outclassed Mason with a 71-57 loss. The game was tied at halftime, but Richmond would burn Mason badly in the second half, outscoring them 43-29.
The Patriots played poorly on offense, shooting just 33% from the field with Walton finishing 3-of-20 on just 9 total points. In contrast, the Spiders — behind three double-digit scorers in Maggie Doogan, Ally Sweeney and Rachel Ullstrom — made half of their field goal attempts.
Mason’s next test came against top-seeded Rhode Island (14-0 in the A-10 at the time), and they were no match for the Rams’ championship-caliber defense. In a 79-63 home loss, senior guard Brooklyn Gray scored 30 points on only 17 shots, whereas Mason shot a woeful 23-of-73 (32% FG).
Mason’s defense, which allowed 60 ppg throughout the season, was the clear strength of the team. With the two losses, however, against top-ranked conference rivals like Richmond and Rhode Island, the offense failed to meet the moment. Mason scored a measly 60 ppg (45-of-140, 32% FG) against those two.
In order to make due on their expectations for the season, Mason would need to correct their shooting woes— instead, Blair-Lewis decided to double down on their strength: the defense.
“If they’re not scoring, [then] we’re not scoring,” she said after the Patriots exacted revenge against Richmond.
In an ugly, low-scoring game, Mason locked Richmond up in their 46-37 rematch, holding the best scoring team in the A-10 to shoot an abysmal 27% from the field. After the Patriots later defeated Duquesne in the season finale, they entered the A-10 tournament on a seven game win streak as the hottest team in the conference.
In the first round, Dayton gave Mason trouble, and the Patriots’ season appeared over after falling down by 10 with less than 4 minutes remaining— instead, Mason engineered another come-from-behind push to force overtime. In the extra period, an unexpected hero — junior forward Louis Volker — rebounded a missed shot by graduate forward Hawa Komara and made a heroic buzzer-beater layup, sending Mason to the next round.
Once again, Mason would have to face Richmond in another pivotal matchup. This time, the result was never in doubt. The Patriots sent the Spiders — and A-10 Most Outstanding Player, Maggie Doogan — packing after a 60-45 victory. With the tournament in Henrico, Va., the Richmond players and fans didn’t have to go far.
In the A-10 Championship, Mason’s A-10 run came to an end against Rhode Island, 53-51. The Rams’ defense, which had stifled Mason in their previous matchup, held them to another substandard outing.
The Patriots shot just 32% from the field, and despite coming into the second quarter up 15-10, the Rams took the lead in the third and did just enough to get by. Walton, Harris and freshman guard Mary Amoateng combined for 38 points, but on 14-of-48 shooting. Without much else help other than a few Jada Brown threes, Mason lacked firepower when they needed it most.
The season came to a close the following week at EagleBank Arena. While Mason nearly completed yet another improbable comeback against Quinnipiac, the defense couldn’t hold back an offense that shot 54% from the field.
While Mason’s season ended without an NCAA bid, the season was full of continued growth for a now firmly established program. With a 23-10 record and a dominant 16-2 mark in A-10 play, the Patriots won 20 games for the third straight season en route to their first A-10 regular season crown. They also appeared in a second consecutive A-10 Championship, which had never been done before Blair-Lewis, Walton and Harris joined the Patriots.
