La Salle’s late charge couldn’t upend George Mason in A-10 second round, but there is a bright side
Despite the loss, this season was the first the Explorers completed back-to-back winning seasons, their first since 2003-04.
WILMINGTON — No. 8 La Salle was unable to sustain a fourth-quarter comeback against No. 9 George Mason, falling, 64-58, in the second round of the Atlantic 10 women’s tournament on Thursday morning inside Chase Fieldhouse.
The No. 9-seeded Patriots (16-14) advance to the A-10 quarterfinals to face No. 1 seeded UMass on Friday.
George Mason led the No. 8-seeded Explorers (17-14) for most of the contest. However, La Salle rallied back to tie the game, 46-46, midway through the fourth quarter. George Mason then pulled off a 7-0 run to quickly regain its lead for good.
Additionally, George Mason won the battle of the boards, grabbing 45 rebounds to La Salle’s 35.
Graduate student Kayla Spruill closed out her La Salle career with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Spruill and Charity Shears are the only players on the roster guaranteed not to return next season, without any eligibility remaining.
“I wish it was better for [Spruill], but she did her part,” La Salle head coach Mountain MacGillivray said. “And it’s what she does every night, even on the bad nights when it’s not 15 and 10. She’s doing the things that she needs to do to make us successful. I really enjoyed having her for five seasons.”
Senior guard Claire Jacobs left the floor briefly in the first quarter after sustaining a blow to the face, but returned minutes later and finished the game with 10 points and three rebounds.
Molly Masciantonio chipped in six points and five assists, while Shears and Jaye Haynes added eight points apiece.
George Mason was led by Sonia Smith, who had a game-high 18 points.
Shots not falling
For La Salle this season, it felt as though either every shot fell or none at all. The Explorers seemed to hit a rough patch at the wrong time on Thursday. From layups rolling right off the rim to three-point attempts popping out of the basket, La Salle did get a number of good looks at the basket but were unable to capitalize.
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La Salle started off strong, shooting 41.4% from the field in the first half. It was the third quarter when Explorers started to come apart, with the team shooting just 3-for-11 (27.3%) and allowing the Patriots to build as much as a nine-point lead.
Plagued by turnovers
La Salle also struggled to protect the basketball on Thursday, gifting the Patriots 22 points off turnovers.
While the Explorers took their first lead early in the second quarter, they found themselves down by four once again by the halftime buzzer. George Mason went on a 6-0 run to end the half, helped by three La Salle turnovers in the last three minutes of the quarter.
“We had a couple of breakdowns where we weren’t secure with the ball,” MacGillivray said. “But George Mason’s out there playing defensive, making things happen.”
George Mason led despite shooting just 1-for-8 from three in the first half, compared to La Salle hitting 4 of 13. George Mason’s first made three-pointer came halfway through the second quarter.
“The reality is, this group went out there and took another step forward for this program,” MacGillivray said. “It was the first time we’ve been back-to-back winning seasons in the Atlantic 10 [since 2003-04]. It’s the first time we’ve had winning seasons back-to-back in 19 years. The group that’s graduating, and the group right behind them, have changed what’s going on with this women’s basketball program.”