George Mason University’s women’s basketball team is set to play the Richmond Spiders in the Atlantic 10 (A-10) Tournament semifinals on Saturday, March 7. The game will take place at Henrico Entertainment & Sports Arena in Henrico, Virginia, with tip-off scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
This matchup marks the 71st meeting between George Mason and Richmond. Each team won their respective home games during the regular season. In neutral site contests, Richmond holds a 6-2 advantage.
Richmond enters the semifinals with a record of 26-6 overall and 15-3 in A-10 play. The Spiders average 73.5 points per game while allowing opponents an average of 59 points, resulting in a scoring margin of +14.5. Their shooting statistics include a field goal percentage of 46.2%, three-point shooting at 37.4% (with an average of nearly eleven made threes per game), and free throw accuracy at just over 80%. On defense, Richmond limits teams to under 39% shooting from the field and under 29% from beyond the arc.
Key players for Richmond include Maggie Doogan, who leads her team with averages of 21.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while maintaining high efficiency across all shooting categories; Rachel Ullstrom contributes an additional 14.4 points per game; Ally Sweeney adds both scoring and assists; Alicia Newell leads in steals.
For George Mason, this season has seen several milestones reached by both players and staff:
– The Patriots earned a share of their first-ever regular season conference championship.
– Their sixteen conference wins are the most in program history.
– Zahirah Walton and Kennedy Harris were selected to the All-Conference First Team.
– Hawa Komara and Mary Amoateng made the All-Defensive Team, with Amoateng also being named to the All-Rookie Team.
– Junior Kennedy Harris surpassed one thousand career points last week against Duquesne.
– Head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis is noted as “the longest tenured Black female head coach in D1 (27 years).”
– Walton was named to this year’s Becky Hammon Player of the Year Midseason Watch List.
– Coach Blair-Lewis achieved her four-hundredth career win earlier this season against VCU.
– Last year, George Mason claimed its first A-10 championship title, securing their initial NCAA Tournament appearance.
If George Mason advances past Richmond, they will face either Davidson or Rhode Island on Sunday, March 8 at ESPN2’s televised game scheduled for 4 p.m.
