Mustang Girls Do Splits

The George Mason girls had a pair of set backs at the Chantilly Tournament over the holidays, but bounced back with two wins to get back on track heading into tonight’s game at Madison County.

Early start times at 9 a.m. might have contributed to the sluggish first quarter the Mustangs turned in against West Potomac, but regardless the cause, a fourth quarter rally still could not bring Mason back against a physical opponent. The Mustangs fell by a final score of 51-44.

The Mustangs followed up the first round loss with a 45-30 defeat to Fairfax.

“We played Fairfax in the afternoon, so we can’t use an early morning start as an excuse against them,” Head Coach Dan Wilkie said, disappointed in the effort his team put in against the larger school. “The whole team came out flat. They were very aggressive defensively and were tipping every pass or blocking shots. We just didn’t hold onto the ball.”

Mason rebounded with a 52-30 win over Stone Bridge in the final game of the tournament despite again coming out flat after another 9 a.m. tip off. The Mustangs only carried a two-point lead into the locker room at halftime, though the team put it together in the second half to win by 22.

“That win was nice, but we’re still waiting for that game where we can put a whole four quarters together,” Wilkie said. Maggie O’Toole and Meredith Hamme led the Mustangs throughout the tournament in scoring, averaging nearly ten points each during the three games.

Mason continued its winning ways Tuesday, blowing past district opponent Manassas Park 59-27. “We had scoring across the board,” Wilkie said. Three players, Hamme, Alex Pender, and Annie Zweighaft scored ten points each, while O’Toole scored nine.

A newly installed fast break offense helped the Mustangs pull away late in the game. “It was a good all-around effort,” Wilkie said. “As a coach I never want the team to play down to the level of our opponent.” Pender, Ashley Thompson and Bailey Walton all finished the game with seven rebounds.

Mason next faces Madison County tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Mike Hume may be emailed at mhume@fcnp.com