A 22-8 edge in the second quarter helped power the George Mason women’s basketball team to a 73-52 victory over UMass in an Atlantic 10 Conference game on Sunday at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

It was the fifth loss in a row for the Minutewomen, which fell to 3-16 overall, 1-6 in the A-10. George Mason improved to 14-3, 5-1.

Kristin Williams led the way with 20 points for UMass, followed by Bre Bellamy with 11 points. Lilly Ferguson scored six points and Alexsia Rose added four points and five assists.

UMass got off to a tremendous start. The hosts hit all three of its 3-pointers in the first quarter, and shot 64.3 percent from the field in the period to take a 21-18 lead.

As good as the opening quarter was for the Minutewomen, they were unable to continue that momentum into the second frame. The hosts shot just 22 percent in the quarter (4-for-18), while George Mason’s Taylor Jameson scored all 10 of her points on the night in the stanza to help the Patriots to the 22-8 advantage. The visitors turned the deficit into a 40-29 halftime advantage.

Williams hit back-to-back 3s early in the third quarter to get UMass within 42-35, but Mason answered with an 11-1 run to make it 53-36. The Patriots were able to keep the Minutewomen at arm’s length the rest of the way, taking a 56-41 advantage into the fourth quarter and pulling away.

UMass shot just 36 percent from the floor in the loss, and Mason held a decisive 39-24 edge in rebounding. The Patriots also received 38 points from their bench and made 15-of-16 shots from the free throw line.

The Minutewomen return to action Wednesday with an away game at Davidson (7 p.m.).