Mitchell Richtmyre/Fourth Estate
Mason women’s basketball secures longest win streak in program history
BY CHRISTIAN SEGOVIA, SPORTS EDITOR
On Feb. 12, Mason women’s basketball reached its longest win streak in program history after defeating the Rhode Island Rams, 56-44.
With this victory, both Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams have a total of 42 wins–the most wins at the Division 1 level.
Graduate student Nalani Kaysia contributed six points and 10 rebounds. With her first rebound against Rhode Island, she became the first Patriot to record 500+ rebounds and 500+ kills at Division 1 level playing basketball and volleyball.
Senior guard Paula Suárez led the way with 17 points, shooting 8 of 13, along with five assists and five rebounds. Redshirt Sophomore Zahirah Walton added 12 points, getting four in each of the following stats: rebounds, assists and steals.
Walton scored eight of Mason’s 17 points in the first quarter. “I noticed that they’re sagging,” she said of her early performance. “I was just thinking, like, let me shoot this full confidence because I know I worked on this.”
Suárez scored six of Mason’s 16 points in the fourth quarter, scoring through a mix of layups, mid-range jumpers, and post-fadeaways. “Just trying to stay confident with the shots I take,” Suárez said about her approach. “Some contested shots were engraved, just like mentality of like onto the next play, that doesn’t happen, it doesn’t matter what happened.
Heading into the Rhode Island game, the Patriots had helped opponents to an average of 6.25 second-quarter points in their previous four games. Rhode Island outscored Mason 14-8 in the second quarter, raising that average to 7.8 points per game.
Despite shooting 21-of-52 (40.4%) and 5-of-19 (26.3%) from the three-point line, the Patriots’ defensive efforts secured their win against Rhode Island. They held Rhode Island to 17-of-58 (29.3%) from the field and 4-of-19 (21.1%) from the three-point line while forcing 15 turnovers, blocking eight shots, and recording eight steals as a team.
“We do a lot of scouting and put a lot of responsibility on the girls to make sure they know exactly what is asked of them,” Mason Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis said on the team’s defensive approach. “If we’re not scoring, they’re not scoring.”
Junior forward Nekhu Mitchell has averaged 19.4 minutes, 6.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game over the last five games. As a result, Coach Lewis increased Mitchell’s minutes leaning on her defensive impact.
“She has always been a really good player that could play defense,” Coach Lewis on Mitchell’s defense. “Tonight, she wanted to guard one of the best players on the team, and it’s different when you put someone on versus one guard. And tonight she had that lock-in mentality.”
The Patriots look to get their 11th win of the season against the University of Massachusetts at Eaglebank Arena on Feb. 16. Student tickets are available on Mason360. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on MASN.