On the road against one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, the UMass women’s basketball team was right where it needed to be entering the fourth quarter of Sunday’s pivotal league contest.

The Minutewomen trailed George Mason by just two points after three quarters, using a big period out of halftime to get within striking distance of the Patriots. But the hosts put the clamps down in the final stanza, outscoring UMass 23-15 to hold on for a 76-66 victory in Fairfax, Va.

UMass dropped to 14-12 overall with the loss, 9-6 in the A-10. George Mason improved to an impressive 23-3 ovearll, 13-2 in the conference.

Yahmani McKayle led the Minutewomen offensively with 21 points and eight assists, while Allie Palmieri scored 16 points and six rebounds. Stefanie Kulesza made it three UMass players in double figures with 10 points and five boards, while Megan Olbrys chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds.

George Mason’s Nekhu Mitchell tallied 20 points to pace the hosts.

The Minutewomen shot a better percentage from the floor and the 3-point line than George Mason, but the Patriots took advantage of their trips to the free throw line on Sunday, connecting on 20 of their 26 foul shots, and also outrebounded UMass by a 51-38 margin. 

UMass trailed 36-27 at halftime, but outscored Mason by the eight-point margin to get within 53-51 entering the final period. A jumper from Olbrys had the Minutewomen down just 59-57 with 3:53 to play in regulation, but the Patriots responded with an 8-0 run to snatch control. 

UMass returns home to play Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center (6 p.m.).