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KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Floyd County's Amber Quesenberry watches the final seconds tick off of the clock during the Buffaloes' loss to George Mason.

KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

Floyd County's Brittany Bourne (middle) drives the ball inside against defense from George Mason players Abby Stroup (left), Chatal Thomas (22) and Kelsey Kane during Saturday's game at VCU.

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RICHMOND -- This might go on for a while.

George Mason's girls got revenge for last year's semifinal disappointment by upending defending VHSL Group A Division 2 state champion Floyd County 53-46 on Saturday afternoon at the Siegel Center.

The game extended a rivalry that could continue into the foreseeable future.

The Mustangs, under first-year coach LaBryan Thomas, had two juniors and two freshmen playing the crucial minutes, as the Mustangs fought back a furious comeback attempt from the Buffaloes. Floyd County says goodbye to the school's all-time leading female scorer Brittany Avancini, off to Liberty University after four-straight trips to the state final four, but welcomes back six other state tournament veterans, two of them who started Saturday's championship game.

Floyd County, which beat George Mason 66-62 in last year's semis, did not have its regular shooting eye.

George Mason's switching defenses, particularly a sticky 1-2-2 zone, cut off the inside and left the Buffaloes with little but perimeter shooting opportunities. The final tally of shots made and attempted read 16-for-53, with 24 percent accuracy in the second half.

"We got a lot of open looks," said Avancini, 16-for-48 from the field in her last two state tournament games. "Sometimes we couldn't get our feet set, sometimes we got in too much of a hurry. They wouldn't fall."

Thomas said the 1-2-2 was a recent addition to the Mustangs' defensive repertoire.

"We put it in to stop the 3-point shots, keep a hand in their face, put pressure on the ball," he said "I think we accomplished what we intended to do."

The other result of the defense was very few second chances on missed shots for Floyd County, which was gunning for its fourth state basketball crown. George Mason enjoyed a massive 43-28 advantage on the backboards.

Mustangs junior Nicole Mitchell, who led all rebounders with 15, said Thomas had lit into the players the previous night on their supposed deficiencies on the glass.

"We had to rebound," she said. "It's such an important part of the game."

George Mason had the size to go toe-to-toe with Floyd County's formidable front line. Mitchell, a junior who came in scoring almost 18 points per game stands 5-foot-10; senior Kim Kenny stands 6 feet and she collected nine rebounds to go with eight points.

"They took away the lane," said Floyd County's 5-11 junior post Carmen Bolt, who made four of six field goals and had 10 points and four rebounds. "That's a big part of our game."

The Mustangs, whose only previous girls basketball state title came in 1998, had 15 offensive rebounds.

"It's not the first shot that gets you sometimes, it's the second and third," Floyd County coach Alan Cantrell said.

Avancini struggled from the outside, and she had six of her team's 14 turnovers. Her final numbers: game-high 19 points, team-high six rebounds, two steals, 8-for-8 from the foul line.

"She's obviously a great player," Mitchell said.

Floyd County pressed relentlessly, as is its style, and forced 23 turnovers as compared to just 14 of its own.

George Mason had seven giveaways in their first eight possessions.

But unlike most Buffaloes victims, the Mustangs pulled themselves together and refused to fall apart offensively.

After that initial flurry, the Mustangs did a nice job of beating the press for some easy buckets. Freshman Bria Platenburg scored the majority of her 14 points while releasing quickly on defensive rebounds to get up the floor before Floyd County's defenders could get back.

"We were a little slow getting back sometimes," Cantrell said. "They did a great job of attacking the press."

Much of the credit for that had to go to George Mason's junior point guard Chatal Thomas, the primary ballhandler and the daughter of the coach.

She and Mitchell played all but two minutes. Thomas had four of George Mason's 16 assists, leading to 21 field goals. Thomas had six turnovers but she made up for it with a game-high five steals.

"She's a hard-nosed kid," her coach said. "Sometimes she'll get erratic and I'll have to get her out of there and talk to her. But she's really a good player."

Cantrell said repeatedly how proud he was of his team.

"I'll take 26 wins any year," he said.

FLOYD COUNTY (26-4)

Avancini 5-19 8-8 19, Phillips 0-3 2-4 2, Bourne 3-7 0-0 7, Hartman 2-8 0-2 4, Bolt 4-6 2-4 10, Ingram 0-0 0-0 0, Gray 0-4 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 2-5 0-2 4, Quesenberry 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-53 12-20 46

GEORGE MASON (24-6)

Platenburg 7-12 0-0 14, Kane 2-7 2-4 7, Thomas 3-11 3-4 9, Kenny 3-9 2-2 8, Mitchell 5-9 2-2 15, Chehata Mayssa 0-0 0-0 0, Roth 0-0 0-0 0, Stroup 0-1 0-0 0, Kane 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 21-50 9-12 53

Floyd County 13 11 8 14--46

George Mason 10 17 16 10--53

3-point goals -- Floyd County 2-16 (Avancini 1-7, Phillips 0-2, Bourne 1-2 , Hartman 0-3, Gray 0-2), George Mason 2-8 (Kane 1-4, Thomas 0-1, Mitchell 1-3). Total fouls -- Floyd County 16, George Mason 16. Fouled out -- Phillips. Rebounds -- Floyd County 28 (Avancini 6), George Mason 43 (Mitchell 15). Assists -- Floyd County 7 (Bourne, Bolt 2), George Mason 16 (Platenburg, Kane, Thomas 4). Turnovers -- Floyd County 14 (Avancini 6), George Mason 23 (Mitchell 6). Blocks -- Floyd County 3 (Bourne 2), George Mason 5 (Kane 2). Steals -- Floyd County 10 (Avancini, Bourne, Bolt 2), George Mason 9 (Thomas 5).