FAIRFAX, Va. – The Navy women's basketball team tipped off its 2020-21 season on Sunday with an afternoon tilt at George Mason. At the conclusion of 40 hard-fought minutes at EagleBank Arena the host Patriots (1-1) ended up victorious, 72-68 over the Mids (0-1). In a game with large momentum swings throughout, the larger Patriot squad used its advantage on the glass to end the game on an 18-9 run over the final 4:42. Navy was in the game throughout as senior team captain Sophie Gatzounas (South Hadley, Mass.) found an extra gear on Sunday tallying a career-high 26 points, in addition to seven rebounds and two steals over 39 minutes of action.
 
Gatzounas' career day was backed up by a trio of teammates who all scored in double digits. Junior Kolbi Green (Baltimore, Md.) was the Mids' second leading scorer on Sunday with 13 points, while Lindsay Llewellyn (So., North East, Md.) and Sydne Watts (Fr., Canton, Ga.) each netted 12 points.
 
"The difference in today's game was in the paint," remarked Tim Taylor, who was making his collegiate head coaching debut for the Mids on Sunday. "Mason pounded the ball inside and beat us on the boards pretty significantly. Then we had some crucial turnovers at the end of the game."
 
After a long offseason the game opened with both teams looking to get their footing offensively and baskets were hard to come by early. Green got Navy on the scoreboard first when she snagged a steal and pulled up for a jumper at 5:20 to make it 3-2 in favor of George Mason. After the Patriots sank their second three-pointer of the frame to make it 8-4 at 2:57, the Mids fired back with baskets on successive possessions as Gatzounas and Llewellyn went back-to-back with Llewellyn sinking a three-pointer from wing at 1:22 for the exclamation mark. The back-and-forth action continued down the stretch with the hosts taking a 10-9 lead for all of 16 seconds before Morganne Andrews (Fr., Martinsburg, W.Va.) made her first field goal of her collegiate career with 13 seconds left in the frame. Navy rounded out its 10-2 run with a steal and trey by Gatzounas before the quarter expired. The Mids' 14-10 lead was bolstered by 42.9 percent shooting from the field.
 
George Mason didn't let Navy get comfortable in the lead for long as the hosts scored 11 of the first 12 points to start the second quarter over the first 4:01. With the score 21-15 in favor of Mason, Gatzounas attempted to kickstart the Mids' offense with a layup and an and-one conversion to make it 21-18. The game stayed at that three-point margin for the next two minutes before the Patriots' imposing center Jazmyn Doster grabbed an offensive board and converted the putback at 3:46. Each team recorded four points over the remainder of the half to send the teams to the locker room with the score 29-24.
 
Coming out of the halftime intermission with George Mason holding a five-point lead, the teams played an even first four-plus minutes with both netting seven points each. After the hosts expanded their lead out to 37-31 at 5:25, the Mids caught fire offensively and scored 15 of the next 19 points. Navy's comeback was spearheaded by a well-rounded attack as five different players scored led by Gatzounas' six points. The Mids were especially aggressive around the basket as they went 6-6 from the foul line in the final 2:34 of play in the third.
 
Up 46-41, the confident Navy squad continued building on its momentum and scored the first five points of the fourth quarter. Watts was the catalyst for this run as the freshman knocked down a jumper before charging towards the basket and netting an and-one opportunity. The Mids held the Patriots at that 10-point margin until the seven-minute mark. With the score 53-43, George Mason tallied 15 of the game's ensuing 23 points to tighten it to a 59-56 mark at 4:27. Navy unfortunately saw that lead fade away over the final four minutes of the contest as the Patriots' size and activity in the post was the story as they recorded eight rebounds, including four off the offensive glass, as well as forcing two Midshipmen turnovers. Strong foul shooting kept Navy in the game as it made seven of eight foul shots during this stretch. George Mason took its final lead of the game with 48 seconds when Doster muscled in a layup to make it 64-62. The Patriots made eight of their 10 attempts at the line in the closing 42 seconds. In total, George Mason scored 31 points versus 22 for Navy to make it a 72-68 final score.
 
"This is a game we can grow from with a lot of teachable moments," said Taylor. "I thought we executed well offensively for the majority of the game. This group will grow from today's effort. I liked our resiliency when Mason went on runs. Our kids kept fighting and playing hard. Our young players gained valuable experience in this game."
 
For the game, Navy outshot George Mason, 37.5 percent (21-56) to 30.4 percent (24-79) from the field and at the foul line, 85.2 percent (23-27) to 75.0 (18-24). Navy's 23 made free throws were 10 more than its highest foul shooting output from the 2019-20 season (13 at Bucknell). Neither team had much success from three-point range as they both shot 23.1 percent, as Navy was 3-13 and George Mason was 6-26.
 
In the battle of the glass, the Patriots out-rebounded the Mids, 56-42 with a 31-13 advantage in offensive rebounds. Ciera Hertelendy (Jr., Inwood, W.Va.) led Navy with a career-high nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Andrews and Gatzounas each added seven boards for the visitors.
 
Defensively, Navy forced George Mason into 12 turnovers and recorded eight steals. Green, Mimi Schrader (So., Plymouth, Minn.) and Gatzounas all posted multiple thefts. Green had a game-high three steals.
 
The Mids' early non-conference action will continue on Wednesday with a road contest at the University of Richmond. Tip-off between the Mids and Spiders is set for 5 p.m. at Robins Center.