(Davon Marion / Fourth Estate)
Mason wins fourth straight behind elite shooting performance in final home game
BY NATHAN FERRARO, MANAGING EDITOR AND PETER MAHLER, ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
In their final home game of the season, Mason women’s basketball (20-8, 15-2 in A-10) demolished Saint Joseph’s (19-9, 10-7) 85-59 behind a blistering 53% performance from beyond the arc, winning their fourth straight game against one of the hottest teams in the conference on Feb. 25.
This win marks the third straight 20-win season under Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis as the Patriots begin gearing up to defend their A-10 title.
After a tight first quarter, the game broke open in the second as the Patriots outscored the Hawks 22-11, shooting 58% while holding them to just 25% from the field. Freshman Mary Amoateng fueled the surge, scoring 14 first-half points on 5-5 shooting from the field.
The performance punctuates a standout month for the young scorer, who has scored double digits in five of her last seven outings, averaging almost 12 ppg and showcasing improvement coming off the bench.
“Mary is just so confident when she goes out there,” Blair-Lewis said. “She’s relentless, and she’s just so confident.”
Amoateng says her goal is to continue to be confident and take shots she’s capable of making as her Mason career continues.
Throughout the season, Mason has largely relied on strong defensive outings. Most notably, they held Richmond, the A-10’s top scoring team, to just 37 points on Feb. 16. The offense led the way against Saint Joseph’s, dropping 85 points on what had been the third-best scoring defense in the A-10.
The Hawks battled early on, with junior guard Gabby Casey and senior forward Faith Stinson combining for 20 points on 6-11 shooting in the first half. Stinson’s team-leading 15 points provided headaches in the paint all game long, but a leg injury to Casey late in the first quarter neutered the St. Joseph’s attack heading into the second.
Junior forward Zahirah Walton led all scorers with 29 points, including a 11-12 performance from the free throw line. With this being her third straight game logging 20 or more points, the second-highest scorer in the A-10 has powered Mason through their win streak. She also led the game with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
(Davon Marion / Fourth Estate)
“It’s just special to see what Coach [Blair-Lewis] first told me, like, when I came to campus for my official visit; the vision she had, just to see it come to life, is really important to me,” Walton said.
Adding onto the Patriot total, junior guard Kennedy Harris scored 15 points, marking her eighth straight double-digit game as Mason’s second-leading scorer. She and Walton have teamed up all year long to put Mason in the driver’s seat for a double-bye in the A-10 Tournament as a top-four team in the conference.
With one game left in the regular season, Blair-Lewis reflected on the impact of the early season games on the team.
“We learned a lot of lessons in our non-conference,” she said. “Sometimes we took our foot off the gas a little early, thinking something was in the bag, and it’s really good to see them learn those lessons.”
She said the Patriots’ goal is to “continue to keep playing until it’s zeroes,” something the Patriots exemplified when leading throughout the second half.
The Patriots will close out the month with a 2 p.m. matchup at Duquesne today. Fans can stream the game live on ESPN+.
