The George Mason University women's lacrosse team (2-1) held visiting Delaware scoreless for a nearly 30-minute stretch during a defensive-minded 11-8 victory Wednesday afternoon at George Mason Stadium. The 28-min drought stretched across both halves and Mason ripped off a 7-0 run during the defensive stand. Senior goalkeeper Melissa Semkiw proved to be the catalyst of the superb defensive performance, grabbing a season-best 16 saves while allowing just eight goals (.667 save percentage). Her active work around the goal also led to a 4-caused turnover, 8-ground ball effort during a stellar effort for the preseason All-A-10 selection. Mason committed 24 turnovers in the game and Delaware held a +13 (33-20) edge in shots, but the Patriots more than made up for it with an accurate attack in which 17 of the team's 20 shots were on goal. Mason also won the draw battle (11-10) for the third time in as many games this season. Sophomore Deanna Balsama paced Mason offensively with a six-point effort Wednesday, including a season-best four goals to go along with two assists. She tallied four draw controls in the contest. Senior Morgan Rynn added one of her best efforts in a Mason uniform while registering her first career hat trick. She scored three goals on four shots to help pace the Patriots' accurate attack. Leading Mason in the draw circle, junior Abby Folker notched a career-best seven draw controls and registered a goal. She's averaging 4.7 draw controls per game over the first three contests of the season. Delaware held early leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but with under 18 minutes to play in the first half, the Patriots made their run, tallying the final five goals of the period. The run included three points from Balsama (2g, 1a) and two points (1g, 1a) from Romano. Mason took a 7-3 edge into halftime. The Patriots' defensive stand continued well into the second half, where Mason went another 11 minutes before letting the Blue Hens score. During that spurt, two goals from Rynn extended the edge to six (9-3). Mason went up seven (11-4) after Balsama's second-straight goal with 12:19 to play. The Blue Hens scored three of their final four goals off free positions, including a man-up score. But that late surge was not enough to cut significantly into the Patriot lead, as Mason grabbed the three-goal triumph. The Patriots now begin a four-game road swing with a contest at Northeast Conference power Mt. St. Mary's on Wednesday, February 26. The Mountaineers went 16-3 last season and 7-0 in NEC play.