George Mason led only in the first minute of the game and the last minute of the game and that is what counts as they upset Georgia State, 47-43, on Sunday at the GSU Sports Arena.
Brittany Poindexter's basket 56 seconds into the game gave Mason a 2-1 lead and then her basket with 46 seconds gave Mason its second lead of the game at 43-41. In the 38 minutes in between, host Georgia State had control with nine-point leads in both halves.
The Panthers were cruising along with a 39-30 lead with 4:53 to go and a 41-33 advantage with 4:06 to play, but four missed shots and four turnovers allowed George Mason to produce a 12-0 run that started with a pair of three-point baskets by Brittany Eley and Ashleigh Braxton. Braxton drove the lane to tie at 1:55 and then Poindexter's drive and bank in shot at 46 seconds gave Mason its lead.
With 13.5 seconds left, Mason's Amber Easter went to the line for two free throws to add to the two-point lead, but missed both shots. The ball bounced on the side of the rim and was tipped into the corner where Ashleigh Braxton claimed the ball and was fouled. Her two shots with 9.1 seconds secured Mason's third CAA win as they improved to 10-18.
Georgia State (14-14, 5-12) was playing its second game without senior leading scorer, Danyiell McKeller (hamstring), and the Panthers had trouble scoring. Senior Shay Rawls led the squad today with 18 points, while junior Angelique Burtts added 16 as those two contributed 34 of the 43 points. Freshman Erika Sumpter led with seven rebounds.
Mason was topped by Braxton's 17 points, 14 coming in the second half, and 13 off the bench from Eley. The Patriots were led in rebounding by Angelee LaTouche's nine as they held a 39-33 advantage with 20 offensive rebounds.
"When you're without your leading scorer, others have to step up like they did in Thursday's win," Coach Lea Henry said. "But, we struggled all day getting it into the basket and quit scoring down the stretch. And, I wasn't pleased with our rebounding as we gave them way too many second chance opportunites. We let it slip away and it is tough to take at home. But, we've got another game Wednesday and will get McKeller back for the tournament, so we'll keep working and put this behind us."
Georgia State controlled most of the game thanks to its league-leading defense that allows just 56 points a game (No. 25 in the NCAA). The Panthers had 14 steals today, forced 20 turnovers, and held Mason to 23.5% field goal shooting for the game.
