WASHINGTON – George Mason has ascended to the top tier of the Atlantic 10 under head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, but the Patriots now face a new challenge: stay atop with a vastly different roster than the previous season.
Blair-Lewis built this squad using intentionality, seeking three-level scorers with the flexibility to play multiple positions. She sought players that wanted to win but also showed great character.
Blair-Lewis noted the importance during the recruiting cycle for potential Patriots to know the team’s identity and understand the program’s standards and expectations. To further drive that point, sophomore guard Mary Amoateng played a big role in the recruiting process so that the new additions know exactly what awaited them.
“To maintain the culture, we did a really good job in the postseason of identifying players that would fit that,” Blair-Lewis reflected. “The landscape has changed and so we just wanted to make sure the nine we brought in would fit the excellence we expected, so I think we knocked it out of the park. We have nine talented women. but what I think I love about them more is who they are off the court.”
All told, team has built a sisterhood with a chip on its shoulder. This George Mason group feels it has been under looked and can’t wait to prove the doubters wrong.
Here is a look at the Patriots:
Coach – Vanessa Blair-Lewis - 6
th season
Last year- George Mason went 23-10 overall including a 16-2 A10 mark, sharing the regular season title with Rhode Island. Winning their first 10 conference games, the Patriots put the decision-making and toughness on display that have made them so successful under Blair-Lewis. George Mason overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit during the Betterment Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarterfinals, hitting an overtime buzzer beater to defeat Dayton. The run would stop just short, though, falling to Rhode Island in the final before earning a WBIT berth as the event’s No. 3 seed.
They’ll miss- Zahirah Walton (18.1 ppg/6.1 rpg/40.8% FG), Kennedy Harris (14.1 ppg/71 stls), MJ Johnson (6.8 ppg/4.8 rpg/40.3% FG)
Impact returners- Mary Amoateng (8.5 ppg/71 stls), Kayla Johnson (1.5 ppg), Trinity Massenburg (1.0 ppg)
Newcomers of note- Anovia Sheals (14.1 ppg/5.9 rpg/41.8% FG @ Austin Peay), Summer Yancy (6.4 ppg/4.2 rpg @UCF), Lourdes Da Silva Costa (2 ppg/80% FT @ Alabama)
Reasons to be optimistic- The Patriots lost all five starters from last season, but the sophomore Amoateng represents a crucial return.
She played and learned from a group of veterans last year, following in their footsteps and earning A10 All-Defensive and All-Rookie honors, averaging 2.2 steals per game.
Amoateng explained how the veteran’s lessons guided the way, and she now prepares to take on a similar leadership role.
“With the standards that Coach Blair-Lewis has set for this program, I’m able to know what to do and how to lead this program with a bunch of new pages, so excited to step into this new role,” she said to Field of 68’s Talia Goodman.
Blair-Lewis understands Amoateng’s importance and has surrounded her with a core group of players that will push to raise the standard.
“It’s phenomenal and I think it’s scary because of what she knows now versus what she knew last year and the player she’s going to become,” remarked Blair-Lewis. “It’s scary how much more room she has to grow. Her potential is through the roof; we’ve only scratched the surface. Now I think the game is going to slow down, she’s going to read things differently and we’ve already seen that in practice. She’s around players that are very capable, so it’s not just going to all fall on her.”
Blair-Lewis is quite pleased with her team on the defensive side of the ball, calling the group “tenacious”.
“If I was put in a pit with them, I don’t know if I’d get out alive,” Blair-Lewis declared. “They are tenacious. They are pitbulls.”
X Factor- Anovia Sheals earned Second Team All-Sun and All-Tournament team honors at Austin Peay, scoring 14.1 points per game and grabbing 5.9 rebounds per contest.
Amoateng gave credit to both Sheals and UCF transfer Summer Yancy for their energy, intensity, competitiveness and willingness.
Lourdes Da Silva Costa transferred in from Alabama and did not arrive on campus until August after competing for Sweden’s national team. Despite remaining overseas, Blair-Lewis stated that Da Silva Costa wrote, texted and requested practice film every day over the summer which gave her a major confidence boost when she arrived on campus.
Circle the date- George Mason has an early-season test on Nov. 8 at No. 20 Maryland, the fifth consecutive season the teams have squared off. Another road obstacle awaits on Nov. 18 against Ivy league powerhouse Princeton. George Mason hosts a key matchup on Nov. 21 against a James Madison squad which also went to the NCAA Tournament last season, which will precede a long road stretch for the Patriots.
Bottom line- George Mason has a adopted a new slogan every year, which Amoateng declared is “Leave No Doubt” for 2026-27.
“We’re excited about this cake being baked,” stated Blair-Lewis. “I liken it to baking a cake. We have all of the ingredients; you stir them up and November 2nd, we’ll put the cake in the oven and see what bakes.”
Zac Weiss is a college athletics beat writer for Pittsburgh Sports Now, primarily reporting on Duquesne Athletics. Across his career, he has covered over 1,000 A10 sporting events.