Fourth Estate/Mitchell Richtmyre
The Patriots dominated behind a career performance from Kennedy Harris
BY GABRIEL KING, SPORTS EDITOR
Mason women’s basketball defeated Dayton 78-53 on Wednesday at EagleBank Arena in their final home game of the season. With the win, the Patriots (23-5, 14-3 Atlantic 10) clinched a top-four seed and double bye in next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament.
“This was really a good game to just finish our home season. I really was proud of the ladies. They went out there and took care of business,” Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis said. Despite a slow start, the Patriots never trailed in the game and held the Flyers (11-17, 5-12) to 32.8% shooting.
Mason was led by Kennedy Harris, who scored a career-high 27 points. The Patriots had a 10-6 lead after the first quarter before Harris erupted for 15 points in the second quarter, giving Mason a 17-point halftime lead. “The game just flowed. My teammates would call me when I was open and I just knocked down the shots,” Harris said.
The Patriots dominated the third quarter as well, outscoring the Flyers 25-17. Mason ended the third quarter on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 25. The victory is Mason’s 11th by 20 or more points this season, including two against Dayton.
“It took us a little while to get started, but everybody got the chance to be a part of this,” Blair-Lewis said. Nine Patriots scored in the game, including three in double figures. Harris’ 27 points led the way along with 11 from Ta’Viyanna Habib and 10 from Zahirah Walton.
Graduate student Jazmyn Doster and Seniors Taylor Jameson and Sonia Smith played their final games at EagleBank Arena. The trio will look to end their careers at Mason with the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth.
“To know how my teammates feel about me…is just very inspirational to go even harder for this last stretch of games that we have through March,” Smith said.
The Patriots will likely have to win the A-10 Tournament to secure an NCAA bid, but still have a chance at receiving an at-large bid.
Mason will play at VCU in its regular season finale on Saturday, Mar. 2. Even with a double bye secured, Mason will look to end the regular season strong against an in-state rival. “It’s been the same mindset [since] the season. We’re just the next game up. We put our hard hats on, we put our head down… and we’ll prepare for VCU,” Blair-Lewis said.
Depending on other results in the A-10, the Patriots can finish anywhere between first and fourth in the conference. Mason will begin the A-10 Tournament on Mar. 8 in the quarterfinals. The full bracket and schedule will be finalized following Saturday’s games.