HENRICO, VA – 366 days ago, to the day, George Mason shuffled into the press conference room at the Henrico Sports and Events Center following their A-10 Quarterfinals loss to 5-seeded Duquesne. There were tears in the eyes of senior Sonia Smith and junior Paula Suárez, as well as head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis. The Patriots had just suffered a gut-wrenching defeat, ending their A-10 title and NCAA Tournament dreams, partially due to a series of controversial calls, one so misapplied the league issued a statement the following day.
“Last year, we came here and literally had our hearts broken. And to go in that locker room and see those girls laying all over the floor, and trying to pick them back up for week. For [Zaza Walton] for months because she blamed herself that she lost the game as a freshman.”
That loss sat with the Patriots for the entire offseason. Not even the Patriots birth in the inaugural WBIT could take the sting out of a loss they felt was a wrong.
As tough as the final seconds were, what doesn’t get talked about as much from that Duquesne game, but unquestionably something the coaching staff focused on, was George Mason did not come out of the gates ready to play that March 2024 day. After Mason scored the first basket of the game, the Dukes responded with a commanding 18-2 run. Even midway through the 2nd Quarter, the Patriots still trailed 27-15. What George Mason had learned up to that point in Vanessa Blair-Lewis’ tenure was how to go from a winless team to a good team to a great team. They hadn’t yet learned what it took to be a championship team.
In her first season in Fairfax, George Mason was in the midst of a stretch of 24 consecutive loses in Atlantic 10 conference games. 18 of those loses were inherited from the final two games of 2020 and of course the winless 2021 season. But even in her first season, the Patriots started 0-6, running the total stretch to 707 days between A-10 wins. Finally, the streak snapped. After that game, Blair-Lewis quoted Michael Vick in the postgame press conference describing, “‘winning is great, and losing is better.'” Up to that point, she described, losing had been better for them in the long run. That her team had had to learn which habits had to change and what steps had to be taken if they wanted to see that change.
The groundwork for “believing big” may well have come from that win over GW, combined with an earlier victory over Florida, but it was the A-10 Tournament victory over Saint Louis that really set in motion the domino effect that followed. That March, George Mason became the first-ever 14-seed in either the men’s or women’s Atlantic 10 Tournament to advance into the 2nd Round of the championship. Saint Louis had historically been the Patriots kryptonite: as entering that matchup in Wilmington, the Billikens had won six of the previous seven contests, including the most recent four. SLU had ended the Patriots’ season in the A-10 1st Round in 2020, and had soundly beaten that same 2022 George Mason team just 8 days prior in Fairfax, 58-35. And yet, Mason put together a dominant second half performance, out-scoring the Billikens 39-24 en route to a program-changing 65-50 victory.
The following season, 2023, produced the first winning season for Mason since 2019 and saw the Patriots return to the A-10 Quarterfinals for the first time since 2018. The 2024 season, as magical as it was, seemed however, to only reinforce that the glass ceiling of reaching the A-10 Semifinals, was still very much intact. Make no mistake, the 2024 George Mason team may well go down as the second-best team in program history, competing with only the 2018 team in terms of postseason success. George Mason had gone from the worst statistical offense in all of Division I (50.7 points per game, 30.8% field goal percentage) to averaging 71.1 points per game and a 39.8% field goal percentage, ranking 38th and 223rd respectively. The Patriots had soared to being a top-65 team in the nation and flirted with the NCAA Tournament bubble nearly the entire season, before a pair of key loses late in the season, to Davidson and VCU, took the wind out of their sails.
As far as George Mason had came (and believe me, it was FAR), the 2024 season showed that expectations with this program, especially their own internal ones, had shifted dramatically. Gone were the days of double-digit losing streaks and pulling upsets in the conference tournament. For this team to achieve their goals in 2025, they had to shift their focus entirely to something much, much bigger. A group of players that signed up for a program trying to sell a vision, a dream, to believe in something that was at one time, as far-fetched as the moon, was now in a position to add key pieces to solidify a championship-caliber roster. What this team needed was scoring depth, and depth at the center position. Nalani Kaysia missed the majority of the 2024 season with her pregnancy, and Jazmyn Doster and Zaza Walton had split the bill trying to fill in for Nalani throughout the season. The injury bug also bit HARD in the latter half of that season, and Kennedy Harris did not return in time for the A-10 Tournament.
In the age of the transfer portal and NIL, roster cohesion, especially at the mid-major level is as rare as it comes. For VBL to keep the core of this team together, while developing key role players such as Jada Brown and Page Greenburg, while adding through the portal players like Louis Volker and Khamya McNeal, it changed the whole ballgame. The Patriots tried to schedule up, but were unable to find their way into a big-time November MTE, but were able to draw a neutral-site game with Maryland in addition to road games at Wake Forest and Georgetown in hopes of potentially building an at-large resume.
George Mason tore through their non-conference slate, losing only to Maryland in a very close game, finishing 10-1 plus picking up an early December win at GW to arrive at the bulk of conference play 11-1 and already 1-0 in league play. In addition to receiving votes preseason, the Patriots received their first in-season USA Today Coaches Poll votes the week of December 17, and continued to receive votes in a total of 12 weeks throughout the season. At the same time, George Mason soared in the NET rankings, reaching as high as #40 in early December and being projected as the Last Four In by ESPN’s Charlie Creme.
Just when it looked like the Patriots were firing on all cylinders, they lost two out of three games in less than a week to the league’s two other premiere teams this season: Saint Joseph’s and Richmond. The contest against the Hawks drew the largest crowd in George Mason Women’s Basketball history, but an early 14 point hole proved to much for the Patriots to dig out of. The Richmond game at first seemed like the script had flipped: Mason jumped out to a 30-15 lead at the Robins Center early in the 2nd Quarter, but by halftime the lead had not only evaporated, Mason trailed by 3. The second half was a back-and-forth affair, and a Maggie Doogan bucket with 1.6 seconds left proved to be the game winner, dropping the Patriots to 2-2 already, on January 8.
Driving home from the Robins Center that night, I remember doing the math in my head as to what George Mason was going to have to do to get a double-bye in the A-10 Tournament, let alone hope for an at-large bid. Looking at their remaining schedule, it was a minefield of Quad 4 opponents, and a single loss to any of them could prove disastrous. I ultimately decided on a number around 10 or 11 wins in a row, something that had never been done before in program history. Prior to this season, Mason’s longest Division-I win streak was 8 games. But sure enough, George Mason rattled off 11-consecutive wins, including a top-100 win over Davidson. Mason’s win over VCU on February 5 secured the 20th win of the season, the fastest in program history, in only 24 games. The win streak also included the most lopsided half of basketball I have ever seen, in the Patriots 66-20 shellacking of GW in the final 20 minutes, overcoming a halftime deficit of 30-27 en route to a 91-50 victory. It felt like the Patriots finally got their mojo back.
The next game, Kennedy Harris went down in the first 5 minutes of the game with an ankle injury. Sure, the Patriots would go on to beat Saint Louis 80-53, and the win streak continued for another five games, but Jada Brown’s foot injury prior to the UMass game made things look grim. George Mason, playing only 7 players, was able to find a way past a defensively stout UMass team, but it was clear losing two key ball handlers and the team’s leading scorer had changed the equation for the Patriots. The two biggest games remaining in the regular season came the following week, and without both Kennedy Harris and Jada Brown still, Mason fell at Davidson, 66-50. Kennedy Harris returned to the lineup the following Sunday at Saint Joseph’s, but with still limited mobility and a determined Hawks team that just wanted it more, SJU defeated Mason for the second time this season, 83-69. The Patriots, for the second time this season, had dug a double-digit hole against the Hawks, tried to climb out of it, and fell short.
And for the second time this season, George Mason lost a pair of games against top-100 opponents that, simply put, they just could not afford to lose. And yet, those loses were the two turning points in the season. What’s that quote again, “winning is great, and losing is better”? The bus ride back from Hawk Hill was silent – VBL called it a “coffin on wheels.” The team got back to Fairfax deflated and searching for answers.
Then assistant coach Brittany Ward came to VBL with a suggestion: a pizza party. The whole staff loved the idea. “We had to put things in perspective,” said Blair-Lewis postgame after the victory over Duquesne the following Saturday. “It’s a game. You’re 23-5, so many people would want to change places with you right now.” The team looked at the staff like they were crazy, but sometimes a step back is exactly what you need.
The Patriots went out on Senior Night and simply put, dominated Duquesne. Everyone knew that this game would be significant for George Mason after the debacle in Henrico last March. What it turned into, however, was a game to right the ship and gear up for the A-10 Tournament. Nalani Kaysia had her best game in over a month, dominating for 10 points and 21 rebounds in her final game at EagleBank Arena, as the Patriots rolled to an 86-63 victory.
Then the page turned to Henrico once more. If there is strength of Vanessa Blair-Lewis that perhaps stands out above the rest, it is that she will not make the same mistake twice. This time around, there would be no slow starts and no double-digit comebacks necessary: the entire team made sure of that.
In a poetic twist, 10-seed Saint Louis advanced to the Quarterfinals to face George Mason, setting up a nice bookend to Mason’s first A-10 Tournament victory which happened to be against the Billikens. An early 13-2 run from the Patriots put them up 21-10 after the 1st Quarter. The Patriots never looked back after that, en route to an 87-57 victory, to advance to the A-10 Semifinals for the very first time.
Next up, a rubber match with Davidson after the two-team home split the regular season series. Once again, a hot start propelled the Patriots to an early lead, and a late 10-0 run gave the Patriots a seven-point lead at the half. Coming out of the break, Mason punched first, jumping out to a 10-1 run to grow their advantage to 42-26. In that 3rd Quarter, George Mason forced 8 turnovers and held the Wildcats without a field goal for the final 4:20 of the period, en route to a 63-50 victory. Advancing to their first-ever A-10 Championship game, the Patriots were laser focused on the task at hand. They had taken down one of the teams they had consecutive loses to in February: the second one was on deck next.
Everything had led to this moment: the Atlantic 10 Championship game. All of the talk, all of the math figuring out NET rankings and bubbles and brackets and all the noise could be put to rest in 40 minutes if the Patriots won a single basketball game.
Once again, George Mason came out and threw the first punch: jumping out to a 10-2 run to take an early 10-5 lead on the Hawks. The teams traded baskets throughout the half, but the Patriots held a seven-point lead for what felt like a majority of the first half. In the final three minutes of the call, Saint Joseph’s found themselves on the friendly end of a few whistles, including getting back-to-back possession arrows. Mason’s offense sputtered, going scoreless for the final 4:26 of the half while Saint Joseph’s closed on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 27-27. Brand new ballgame.
With the game, the season, and the championship hanging in the balance, George Mason threw what appeared to be a knockout blow: the Patriots strung together a 17-2 run in the second half to stretch the lead to 19 with 7:25 remaining. Then the Hawks, desperation to the max, began to claw back. An 8-0 run trimmed the lead to 60-49 at the six-minute mark. Paula Suárez stretched the lead back to 14, 64-50, with a bucket with 4:28 left to play, but SJU made sure that was the final field goal of the game for George Mason. With 1:26 to play in the game, Laura Ziegler capped off another 8-0 run to cut the margin to just six, 64-58. Mason this time, made sure that was the final Saint Joseph’s points the remainder of the game. The Patriots never called a panic timeout in the second half as SJU made their run: they remained poised and collected as they weathered the storm. It became clear that free throws were all that stood between George Mason and the NCAA Tournament. In the span of just over a minute while the game hung in the balance, the Patriots drained 9/10 free throws, and stretched the lead to its final margin, 73-58.
George Mason had their first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship, their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid, and their redemption.
As the horn sounded and the confetti fell at the Henrico Sports and Events Center, George Mason had done what had once seemed impossible: win a championship and reach the NCAA Tournament. A program that just four seasons prior had gone 3-19 (0-14) was cutting down the nets. It is one of the most astounding turnarounds in sports history, to be quite frank.
At her introductory press conference in April 2021, Vanessa Blair-Lewis said, “you’ve just signed up with a coach that’s crazy enough to believe that you can win. That’s absolutely crazy enough to believe, and do everything but make excuses, to do it.” It felt only fitting to bring back this quote once more in the championship press conference. With tears in her eyes, and a little smile to me, she replied, “When you have people that you’re leading and they think you’re worth enough follow, and that you’re crazy enough to tell them and we’re gonna be champions one day and, there’s no evidence of that. It’s a big responsibility. It’s a responsibility that I carried every single day I walked into that arena. And I promised those parents that I was gonna take care of their child on and off the court. And every single year we took steps. And I said tonight, this is the night you take the step to be a champion.” And then she looked at me again said, “So I just we’re a little crazy, huh?” with a big smile on her face.
It’s difficult to put into words what it has been like to be apart of this journey. I will never forget going to games in an empty EBA in the middle of a raging pandemic to watch a winless team battle their hearts out and struggle to score more than 40 points in a game. From VBL’s first press conference, I could tell something was different with this staff, but I never imagined we’d get to the place and so quickly at that. What has been built in Fairfax was built on the shoulders of all the players and all the coaches and all the staff who have come before.
There have been so many moments of growth along the way, many I’ve already mentioned. I think what is the most special thing about this group isn’t their on the court accomplishments: it their ones off the court. As basketball teams go, and I’ve been around a fair number at this point, this is one of the best groups of people I’ve ever had the joy to be around. From the players and coaches, the athletic staff, and of course the one and only Hannah Foley, the greatest SID in the game, everyone has so much joy that they approach every day with. Sitting in Raising Canes next to the arena on Sunday night and seeing the whole team happen to walk in and seeing the smiles on their faces is a moment I won’t soon forget.
I’m still not entirely sure it has all sunk in for me yet. I watched as the staff put the ladders up Sunday evening and the George Mason logo sticker was slapped onto the giant March Madness ticket the NCAA provides all conference champions. I see the “GM” logo on the list of automatic qualifiers positioned next to UConn on the infographic and just stare. The latest Coaches Poll has the Patriots the first team out of the poll, effectively ranking George Mason #26 in the nation. This team is so unbelievably special. We will find out on Sunday night at 8PM where they are heading in the NCAA Tournament, and G-d willing, I will be there to cover the team wherever they end up. This team most certainly had the ability to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament, no question about it. But there will be time for further analysis once the brackets are out. For the moment, I sit in the afterglow of one of the most improbable championship runs I may ever see.
George Mason Women’s Basketball is Atlantic 10 Champions.
George Mason Women’s Basketball is heading to the NCAA Tournament.
Daniel Frank is an alum of George Mason University. The 2025 season marks their 10th season at A10Talk, where they are proud to be the content lead for Women’s Basketball coverage, as well as a senior contributor for Men’s Basketball content. In addition, this season will be Daniel’s 26th year following GW basketball, and their 8th following George Mason. You can follow Daniel on X, formerly known as Twitter, @n1a2v3y4.
