Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va. — Ashleigh Braxton had a game-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to lead the George Mason women's basketball team to a 66-49 win Norfolk State on Friday evening at the Patriot Center. Braxton added five rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes of play.
Braxton got things started for GMU (1-0) by knocking down a 3-pointer eight seconds into the game to give the Patriots a quick 3-0 lead. Junior Danelle Tate (Stafford, Va.) answered with a layup on the other end with 19:29 left in the first half to get NSU (0-1) on the board.
The Spartans jumped out to their largest lead of the game, 11-7, on a 3-pointer by sophomore Marquilla Evans (Portsmouth, Va.) with 12:44 left in the opening period. A jumper by Janaa Pickard tied the game at 11-all with 10:50 left and the teams traded baskets and saw four more ties over the next five and a half minutes.
A pair of free throws by sophomore Tyisha Bridges (Greensboro, N.C.) with 2:39 left got NSU within one, 23-22, but the Patriots took a 29-25 lead into halftime.
Braxton exploded in the second half, tallying 13 points and connecting on back-to-back trey balls to open the second stanza. The Spartans did not score in the second half until sophomore Whitney Long (Raleigh, N.C.) hit a 3-pointer with 17:03 left in the game to bring the score to 40-28.
The Patriots' offense really started clicking in the second half as they mounted a 20-point lead, 63-43, after a layup by Braxton with 4:25 left in the game. A layup by Bridges with 25 seconds left ended the scoring for the game.
For the game, GMU shot 44.3 percent from the field (27-of-61), 50 percent from behind the arc (4-of-8) and grabbed 36 rebounds. NSU hit 19 of its 57 shots (33.3 percent) from the field, including 3-of-10 from 3-point range (30 percent). The Spartans won the rebound battle by grabbing 40 for the game, but committed 24 turnovers to the Patriots' 18.
Rachel Robinson had 15 points and six rebounds for the Patriots. Pickard added six rebounds, five points and game-highs of four steals and three blocks.
Evans led the Spartans with 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting from the field. She added a career-high 10 rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes. Tate was the only other Spartan in double figures with 11 points. Bridges had six points, four assists, three rebounds and one block.
NSU travels to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on Wofford at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
