No. 3 Duke Hands George Mason First Loss Of Season

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FAIRFAX, VA (December 3, 2000) -- Freshman Alana Beard (Frierson, LA/Southwood) scored 20 points to lead the third-ranked Duke Blue Devils over the George Mason women's basketball team, 88-68.

Four Blue Devils scored in double figures as Duke improved to 9-0, while George Mason picked up their first loss of the season and fell to 5-1. Duke guard Georgia Schweitzer (Columbus, OH/Bishop Hartley) added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists, while freshman Iciss Tillis (Tulsa, OK/Cascia Hall Prep) and sophomore Sheana Mosch (Clearfield, PA/DuBois Central Christian) added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Duke's balanced-scoring offense.

Duke jumped out to a 4-0 lead to open the game, but George Mason fired right back to go up 10-6 off the second straight three-pointer by senior guard Jen Surlas (Mt. Pleasant, PA/Geibel). There were five lead changes in the first half, with Duke taking their largest lead of the half, up 31-25 with 5:19 remaining. A 9-1 run by the Patriots, including four free throws by sophomore guard Shelbylynn McBride (Valrico, FL/Durant) gave George Mason the 35-32 advantage. The Patriots led 39-38 at the break * with the Blue Devils trailing at the break for the first time this season.

Duke came back strong to open the second half with a 14-2 run to take the lead for good. Another Surlas three-pointer brought the Patriots temporarily back into the game, but a swarming Duke defense kept Surlas to just six points in the second half. Foul trouble, with three Patriot starters fouling out, in addition to 13 second-half turnovers hampered any comeback attempts by the Patriots. Duke went on to take their ninth-straight win, 88-68, over George Mason.

In the loss the Patriots were led by Surlas, with a game-high 27 points and three steals. Freshman guard Vernessa Neamo (Lanham, MD/DuVal) added eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and senior forward Tish Wescott (Salisbury, MD/Parkside) had a game-high eight rebounds and seven points against the Blue Devils.

Duke outshot the Patriots .526 to .412 for the game. George Mason went 6-of-11 from the arc, with Surlas shooting 5-of-7. Duke managed three three-pointers. Each team had 31 rebounds, and the Patriots went 20-of-26 from the charity stripe, while Duke went 25-of-30.

Duke returns to action Saturday, December 9 as they travel to Clemson to take on the Tigers. Tip-off is set for 2 pm.