Moton goes for 31 as women's hoops downs Georgia State in overtime

Taleia Moton carried her team to a70-68 overtime win Sunday afternoon with a 31-point performance (John Powell).

When the women’s basketball team needed an answer, they knew right where to look.

As the clock winded down in overtime, Taleia Moton sank two free throws to give George Mason a 70-68 win at the Patriot Center Sunday afternoon over Georgia State.  Moton ended the game with 31 points. The win comes on the 38th anniversary of Mason’s first ever win as a women’s basketball program and brings head coach Jeri Porter to within three wins of the 200 benchmark.

“We knew they [Georgia State] would come in here to scrap and battle.  They have taken a lot of teams to overtime this year, both home and away,” said a relieved Porter.

The first half was a defensive battle, as neither team could establish an offensive presence.  Play went back and forth as witnessed by three tied scores.  The Patriots would hit their stride late in the first half when Amber Easter hit a layup to give Mason a 16-6 advantage. Easter would finish the game with a double-double, 11 points to go along with 10 boards.

Mason would stretch the lead to as many as 14, before a Kendra Long 3-pointer cut it back to 11.  It would stay that way as the clock winded down to end the first half.  Mason would enter the half with a 28-18 advantage.

“They’re much better than their record shows, it’s important to get out to an early lead,” Porter said.

The Georgia State team that entered the arena in the second half was different.  Led by a full court press, they went on 10-0 run, capped off by a Kendra Long driving layup.  The run forced Porter to call a timeout.

From within the team huddle, Porter was irate.  She rallied her team yelling, “we need to play our brand of basketball.”

Mason would respond as they went on an 8-2 run to push Georgia State off balance.  But a turnover by Evelyn Lewis with 11 minutes to play gave Georgia State a chance to take the lead.  They did just that on a Sade Means layup deep under the basket. The score would change hands back-and-forth over the next eight minutes.

Two foul shots by Moton with under a minute and a half left would tie the score at 57, two of her 31 points on the aftenoon. Mason as a team would take 37 shots from the line in the game, connecting on 27 of them. 

“We had a free throw goal before the game, it kept us in the right mindset,” Porter said.

Regulation would end in a tie, and an overtime period was initiated.  The tight CAA battle continued as the game remained close over the entire five minute period.  With less than 20 seconds to play, Mason had a chance to take the lead.

Moton drove, lost the defender with her crossover dribble and rose up for a shot. It was vintage Moton, her go to move. But she didn’t make the shot, instead she was fouled by Long.  Moton would sink both shots with just one tick left on the clock, and seal the victory for George Mason.

The Patriots will be back in action this Thursday as they take on a ranked Delaware team to start a two-game road swing.  Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.