Gold and emerald lights streak the stadium, music blasts and a crowd roars at EagleBank arena. As the final seconds ticked, the George Mason University Patriots women’s basketball team was declared victorious against the George Washington Colonials with a final score of 60-57.
In a season of record-setting performances, the George Mason University (GMU) women’s basketball team has amassed a total 1,789 points, outpacing their competition at George Washington University (GW) by 277 points. Members of the team cite their determination as a force behind their record not only for this game on February 17, but the season itself.
“Just looking at the clock, locking in and being like ‘two minutes left, one minute left.’ I just thought if I keep her from scoring for two more minutes or one more minute we could win,” said center and GMU graduate student Jazmyn Dexter. “It was more so that ‘never give up’ mentality. Just looking at our coaches and knowing that we’re going to win this.”
In addition to their determination, the team holds a specific defensive strategy. This was crucial in the game’s waning moments, in which both teams were tied near the two-minute mark.

“It’s exciting, wasn’t it? We didn’t want them to score,” said head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, witnessing chuckles echoed in the room. “All of GW’s players are formidable. We just wanted to make sure they were covered and we rebounded. We wanted to make contact and get to the free-throw.”
George Mason University cheerleaders lead the crowd in a “George!” chant. Other spirited traditions at the game included an alumni camera, spotting George Mason alumni throughout the crowd.
Players echoed their coach’s sentiments. They mentioned these consistent, deliberate plays helped them navigate a series of challenging games and their latest victory.
“We’ve been through a tough couple of games the last few times, so we were trying not to lose this one. One play at a time, one stop, one rebound, one score was our strategy,” said guard and junior Paula Suárez, who has an average of 28 points this season.
This resolve was further emphasized in the aftermath of a victory. Blair-Lewis describes the intensity of the game instilled not only further comradery amongst the team, but spirit as well.
“After coming off such a disappointing loss, I really thought this was a team win. It’s tense out there, and I think what you saw from our team tonight was a group of women who refused to lose,” said Blair-Lewis.