WILMINGTON, Del. – For 33 minutes, George Mason had the UMass women’s basketball team exactly where it wanted. 

The Patriots’ physicality, their defensive prowess, their ability to position themselves perfectly in the post to grab rebounds – Mason was playing its game and forcing the Minutewomen to play at their level. 

With 8 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in Friday’s Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinal, the score was tied, and the top-seeded Minutewomen were in trouble in their first game of the postseason.

Needing a bucket desperately, UMass forward Angelique Ngalakulondi went up for a layup to retake the lead. A George Mason turnover put the ball in Sydney Taylor’s hands, and she squared up and sank a triple that shifted something on the UMass bench. 

But it wasn’t until Destiney Philoxy came back down on the next possession, drove into the paint and put up an and-one jumper that brought the UMass bench to its feet that it all clicked.

A switch flipped in the Minutewomen with 7:15 left, and No. 1 UMass rolled over the No. 9 Patriots in a 63-50 victory at Chase Fieldhouse. The defending champions will play No. 5 Richmond in the semifinal round on Saturday at 11 a.m. (CBS Sports Network). 

“It wasn't the prettiest of games that we played, but you have to give George Mason credit. I thought that they came out with a sense of urgency and want to and did a great job of doubling the post and rebounding the basketball,” UMass head coach Tory Verdi said. “We will learn from this and carry on, but I'm really proud of my players.” 

Rebounding was a critical part of the Patriots’ game plan against the Minutewomen (25-5) – George Mason out-rebounded UMass 48-38, and it also capitalized on a fast start against the top seed. The last time these two teams faced off, the Minutewomen raced off to a 19-4 lead. That game was a turning point for the Patriots the rest of the season, and after that contest they made it a huge point of emphasis to come out fast in the first period. 

“When we scout teams you always have to look at the last game. So if any of you know, we came out and had four points in the first quarter, you just know we couldn’t do that again...we had to lock in defensively,” George Mason guard Sonia Smith said. “We know we struggled with scoring this year, it's been up and down....so we had to just key it in on defense. We had to make sure if we didn't score, they don't score. That's where our strong start came from.” 

As much as the Patriots (16-15) aren’t known for their offense, they had it in spades in the opening quarter. Smith went off for 12 points on her own, more than the nine points the entire UMass roster put together. A 9-2 start for George Mason forced a UMass timeout, and though the Minutewomen clawed their way back to a 14-9 spot after the opening 10 minutes, it wasn’t a comfortable place.

But situations like Friday’s game are what Verdi was thinking of when he put his team’s difficult schedule together. When the rubber hit the road come tournament time, he wanted the team to know what it would be like to battle through adversity against difficult opponents. 

“You're not going to always play perfect, the ball always isn't going to go in, but a sign of a great team is they figure out ways to win….we weathered the storm. And that's what great teams do,” Verdi said. “There's a reason why we played Tennessee at Tennessee. There's a reason why we went all the way out to Arizona State to play Missouri, and (play) Drake. We did that to prepare us for this day.” 

UMass had to play catchup for most of the game, taking its first lead in the second quarter off a Ngalakulondi layup. A buzzer-beating fast break layup from Sam Breen gave the Minutewomen a slim 28-27 advantage going into halftime.

They maintained that lead for most of the third period, but couldn’t build up more than a five-point edge at any point, the Patriots always staying within striking distance. 

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that UMass managed to build its advantage and cruise to the finish.

The Minutewomen will have just under 24 hours to recover before their semifinal game, and a win there would send them back to the A-10 title game for the second consecutive season. If they can pick up where they left off at the end of Friday’s game, they’ll be in good shape to see Sunday. UMass beat Richmond by a narrow margin, 73-69, when the teams met in Amherst back on Feb. 1.

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