Mustangs Start Slow, Finish Fast; Beat Tigers 34-28

By Justin Barrow (October 31, 2001)

Senior basketball players, Beth Pyne, Adrienne Thompson, 
Megan Ireland, and Jessica Szymanski were honored at 
Senior Night before their final home game Tuesday
The George Mason Lady Mustangs won an improbably exciting game last night, 34 – 28, against the Bull Run District rival Brentsville Tigers

In the first half of the game the Mustangs we’re extremely uncharacteristic, scoring only 10 points by the half. The first quarter started out with the Tigers literally pouncing all over the Mustangs. They outscored the Lady Mustangs 12 - 4 in the first quarter.

One thing that was abnormal was the absence of the tenacious press usually put on by the Mustangs. The second quarter was almost a repeat of the first until the last few seconds when Christina Sedney stole the ball and made a lay up at the buzzer to cut the Tigers’ lead to under 10 and give the Mustangs a little momentum.

After the half it seemed like the Mustangs still couldn’t do much until one of Brentsville’s key players was injured. After this they put on their impressive press and made up for the two quarters of atypical play. The quarter ended with the Mustangs outscoring the Tigers 12 – 6, which brought the score to 22 – 25.

The Mustangs then proceeded to do what no one thought they were going to do that game, take the lead. With 6:30 to go in the fourth, the Mustangs turned on their engines and took off. They captured the lead and when Jessica Szymanski hit a three from the corner of the arc with 5:27 to go, Brentsville knew it was over. The Mustangs held Brentsville to only 3 points and went on to win a key game in their schedule.

The Mustangs will play Clarke County Thursday night and if they are victorious will probably find themselves in a tie with Madison County for the best regular season record in the district. If that transpires, they will be in a playoff game with Madison County for first place in the Bull Run District this Saturday at a neutral site, Brentsville High School. If the Mustangs win that game, they will get an automatic bid to the regional tournament and would be the Bull Run District regular season champions.