Mustangs Defeat Eagles 46-37, Earn Regular Season Tie; Force Playoff Against Madison this Saturday

By Lasso Staff (November 3, 2001)

Seniors come up strong again, force playoff
Needing a win to gain a regular season tie and to force a playoff game for the regular season championship, the George Mason Mustangs came up strong Thursday night against Clarke County, on the Eagles’ home court, 46-37.

The win forces a sudden death playoff against Madison County this Saturday at 7 p.m. at Brentsville High School. Both teams finished 10-2 in the Bull Run district.

The winner will be declared the regular season champs and will earn a first round bye in the district tournament and be guaranteed a spot in the regional tournament.

Each team won its home game in the regular season with the Mountaineers winning by 7 and the Mustangs by 5.

Mason’s head coach Chris Madison is confident about his Mustangs’ chances. "I think we’ll win Saturday and be in the driver’s seat, " said Madison who based his optimism on the fact that "we’ve been through some gut check games the past two weeks and we’re playing well. Adrienne (Thompson) is averaging about 15 points a game over the past two weeks and Beth Pyne is shooting great."

Thompson had 15 against the Eagles with 8 rebounds. Pyne had 17 and senior Jessica Szymanski, a defensive specialist who is turning into an offensive threat at just the right time for the Mustangs, had 10 points. Szymanski has made at least one 3-point shot in each of her last nine games.

Thursday night the Eagles, psyched up because of Senior Night, came out strong and led the entire half and went into the locker room at 20-19. Mason’s strong junior forward, Christina Sedney, picked up her fourth foul with less than a minute to play in the second quarter and was forced to sit out the entire third. She was replaced by Amanda Harrington who "did a great job" according to Madison.

The Eagles maintained their lead until midway through the third quarter when the Mustangs caught up, then went ahead by 5. With 6:30 remaining in the game, Madison put his charges in a disguised delay. "We ran our usual offense, but never took a shot. The players showed great discipline," said Madison. By the time the Eagles figured out what was going on there were on two minutes left in the game, and they had to foul and the Mustangs were almost perfect from the free throw line. Pyne was 8 for 8 and Thompson 2-2.

The Mustangs prefer to get to regionals by beating Madison County Saturday. However, there are two other avenues. If they were to lose Sat., they could still win the district tournament and move on. Or, they could move on by being in the district championship against Madison County.

Madison doesn’t want anything to do with these scenarios, however, "We want to walk in the front door," he said.