Photo courtesy of Alex Edelman/Mason Athletics
Three takeaways from women’s basketball’s win over Colgate University
BY NATALIE HEAVREN SPORTS EDITOR
Women’s basketball improved to 3-1 after defeating Colgate 64-61 Sunday, Nov 18. Nicole Cardaño-Hillary led the team in points, assists and minutes played, scoring 24 points and four assists in 39 minutes.
Jacy Bolton and Camarie Gatling also scored in double figures, adding 10 and 12 points respectively. Bolton put up 11 rebounds for her third career double-double, her second in as many games.
- Getting to the free throw line is important
The Patriots went 21-32 from the free throw line. After the game, head coach Nyla Milleson said, “We are doing a great job of getting to the line, and that’s what we do … So today, we’ll take it because it’s the best I think we’ve shot all year long, but at the same time we’re certainly capable of still shooting better.”
In each of their last three games, Mason has shot at least 30 free throws, showing that they can get to the line consistently as Milleson mentioned. The team made 65.6 percent of their free throws, their highest percentage of the season. Going into this game they were making just 57 percent of their free throws.
Colgate only shot 11 free throws while making five of them, the first time Mason’s opponent has shot less than 20 in a game this season. Three of these free throw attempts came on and-one.
Colgate’s limited opportunities at the free throw line was in part due to Mason committing 13 personal fouls, a season low.
- Non-scoring productivity was crucial to the win.
Even when players were not scoring, they were still making significant contributions to the team.
Three players scored four points or fewer while grabbing at least seven rebounds. Casey Davis and Marika Korpinen both grabbed seven rebounds and scored four points, while Jewel Triggs grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and added three points.
Each of these players grabbed at least three offensive rebounds and accounted for 11 of the team’s season-high 18 offensive rebounds. Mason outrebounded Colgate 53-40 and 35-20 on the defensive glass.
While Triggs did not make a field goal, she did make three of her four free throws, including two with 17 seconds left that put Mason up three.
- Turnovers continue to be a problem
The Patriots entered the game committing nearly 19 turnovers per game, tied for 237th in the country. During the game on Sunday, they committed 21 against the Raiders.
When asked about turnovers after the game Milleson said, “You know that’s really been one of those issues that we’ve got to clean up … [It’s] definitely an area that we’ve got to be better at, and right now it’s a little bit of a struggle.”
Mason returns home Thursday, Dec. 6 to take on former Colonial Athletic Association rival University of Delaware.
