PHILADELPHIA – Despite a 13-point effort from sophomore forward Katie Jekot and a near double-double from freshman guard Kaliah Henderson, the Saint Joseph's women's basketball squad dropped an Atlantic 10 match-up to George Mason, 54-49, at Hagan Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 9-17 overall (3-11 A-10) while the Patriots improve to 9-18 (3-11 A-10).

Saint Joseph's trailed George Mason by just one point, 42-41, with 7:55 remaining in regulation, but the Patriots tore off on a 7-0 run that would ultimately make the difference.

Prior to the start of the game, the Hawks honored senior players Nailah Delinois and Rachel Gartner and senior student managers Regan Gallagher and Vilma Fermin for their dedication to the program.

How It Happened
Q1 - After George Mason scored the first bucket of the game, SJU went on an 8-2 run on a pair of Jekot three-pointers (9:13, 7:01) and a Katie Mayock jumper sandwiched in between (8:37). The Patriots got to within three on a three-pointer by Tamia Lawhorne, but junior guard Mary Sheehan hit a three as time expired to put SJU up by six points, 15-9, at the end of the first.

Q2 – The Patriots opened the second quarter on a 10-4 run, capped by a Nicole Cardaño-Hillary three to tie the score, 19-19, at the 2:52 mark. Junior guard Lula Roig put the Hawks back ahead with a jumper (2:26), but the Patriots responded with a 2-of-2 showing from the stripe (2:19), and another Cardaño-Hillary three (1:17) gave George Mason the lead. Roig hit another jumper, this time with one tick remaining on the clock, to close SJU's deficit to one point, 24-23, by the halftime break.

Q3 – The Hawks scrapped back to tie the game, 27-27 (7:08), on a jumper by Roig and lay-up by Mayock, but the Patriots took over and extended their lead out by seven points, 39-32, with 2:30 to go in the third. Jekot drilled another three (1:49) and Henderson hit a pair of free throws (1:13) as the Hawks inched back to within two, and a 1-of-2 Patriot showing from the stripe with 46 ticks remaining saw the Hawks go into the final quarter down by three points, 40-37.

Q4 – Saint Joseph's fought back to get to within one point, 42-41, on a Henderson free throw at the 7:55 mark, but George Mason scored seven unanswered points to take an eight-point advantage, 49-41, into the final 6:02 of play. The Hawks wouldn't be able to close in under a five-point differential as the Patriots came away with the five-point win.

Up Next
Saint Joseph's remains home to host UMass (17-10, 7-7 A-10) this Wednesday, February 26. Opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m. at Hagan Arena.