WICHITA, Ka. – In a game that featured nine ties and 15 lead changes, the ULM women's basketball team and George Mason proved to be two evenly matched teams, but in the end, the shorthanded Warhawks could not overcome the Patriots as they fell 65-53 on Saturday afternoon in Charles Koch Arena.
Although the Warhawks fell in both games of the Shocker Winter Classic, head coach Jeff Dow was encouraged by his team's play over the weekend.
“I thought there were definitely some encouraging things [from the weekend],” said Dow. “Starting with Wichita State, a team that has played in the NCAA Tournament the last two years and is a talented team. This is a team that, just this past Tuesday night, lost at (No. 11) Tennessee by three points. They are certainly a talented team, we just dug ourselves such a big hole, but I was proud of our team and the resiliency that they showed to come back.”
“Regarding today, it's tough to overcome being two-of-19 from three and three-of-12 from the free throw line, not to mention twenty turnovers. In spite of all of that, we were right there. We were up one with seven minutes left and then got outscored 15-2 down the stretch, but George Mason is a very talented team in their own right. I was encouraged by the performances we got from Daja Chase and Chelsea Tieuel, our freshman guards. The two of them combined for six assists and only two turnovers. They both shot 50 percent from the field, so they did a lot of good things, so that certainly bodes well for the future.”
In Saturday's game, ULM (4-5) had a one-point advantage with 7:08 left in the game, but George Mason (7-4) used a late run to top the Warhawks.
Three Warhawks garnered double-figures. Alayshia Hunter led the way with 12 points, while Jade Wharton and Tieuel followed closely behind the junior with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Wharton also grabbed seven rebounds, while Hunter collected six rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.
Christina Gray chipped in nine rebounds, two points and an assist.
Taylor Brown had a game-high 26 points for George Mason.
The Warhawks took the lead first as Wharton put in her first basket of the game, but the Patriots came back to take a 7-2 advantage with 15:57 left in the first half.
ULM refused to back down, though, as Hunter put in a jumper and Tieuel scored back-to-back buckets to take the lead (8-7) once again.
George Mason took the lead again off a jumper, but Chase responded with one of her own to grab a one-point lead for the Warhawks with 12:57 left before the break.
The Patriots used a short run to take a four-point advantage, but Hunter hit a layup and a free throw, followed by a Wharton jumper, to give ULM a one-point lead with 8:35 remaining in the half.
Two free-throws gave George Mason the lead, but Wharton came through again for the Warhawks to re-gain a 19-18 lead.
The two teams continued to battle back and forth, with neither team taking more than a four-point lead before the half. The teams entered the locker room knotted at 27-27.
George Mason hit a free-throw and a field goal to open the second half, but Wharton responded with a three-pointer to draw the Warhawks even once again.
The Patriots jumped ahead by seven, but Tieuel hit one from beyond the arc and Hunter and Sharnice Brooks hit back-to-back jumpers to draw ULM within one (46-45).
After George Mason hit a free throw, Wharton's field goal tied the game at 47-47 with 8:30 left in the game.
Brooks used a jumper to help the Warhawks take the lead once again, but the Patriots used late rally to overtake ULM over the last few minutes of the game.
The Warhawks take the court again on Dec. 30 at 4:00 p.m. as they travel to Atlanta, Georgia to face Georgia State in their conference opener.
