Written by Hannah Foley - Assistant Athletic Director, George Mason Athletics
Day 1
Hola, #MasonNation!
Welcome to the official blog of the George Mason women's basketball team's 2025 trip to Spain!
This trip is intended to expose our 14 student-athletes to an international style of play, educate them about the Spanish culture, and bond the squad as they begin their journey to try to capture another Atlantic 10 championship.
Our trip began on Tuesday, August 5, with a 2 p.m. departure from EagleBank Arena. A 30-minute bus ride later, we made it to Dulles. For those of you who haven't travelled in a 30+ person travel party, let me tell you, checking in and checking bags takes a minute! But with the help of our Director of Basketball Operations, Nigel Bowden, and our Sports Administrator, Nena Rogers, everyone got their bags set and off to security.
We made it through security with relative ease, and still had about 1.5 hours before the flight. Plenty of time to grab snacks and get devices charged before a long flight.
We boarded at 5:20 p.m. for our 6:10 p.m. take off, and all went off without a hitch!
Day 2
We flew through the night and landed at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 6. Everyone was a little groggy getting off the flight, most of us having only gotten about 2 hours of sleep, but the adrenaline was pumping!
We had been warned about trying to sleep during the day Wednesday and reminded everyone that powering through a sleepy day Wednesday and going to bed at a normal time in the evening would allow the biological clock to reset heading into our first game Thursday. Easier said than done...
After having picked up our bags (all of them made it successfully!) we went and met our guides: Agnus and Sean, our Global Sports & Entertainment guides, and Tate, our local guide.
They brought us to the bus, and in no time, we were off to our first site.
We went to the Las Ventas Bull Ring on our way into the city. Armed with a croissant to help tie us over to lunch, Tate told us about the building. Built in 1920, the stadium still hosts bull fights to this day. We took a lap around the structure before getting back on the bus to head to the hotel.
After dropping our bags off, we were given some free time to explore the area before lunch. On a team with 8 new players and only 6 returners, the athletes are still getting to know each other, but you wouldn't know it by just looking at them! They went out in mixed groups (upperclassmen, underclassmen, returners, newbies, etc.), and returned with smiles on their faces.
Lunch at the hotel was a wide variety of options, including a station called "assorted fried foods" which gave us all a good laugh.
After lunch it was time for a quick shoot around at the location of our game tomorrow. We will play Basketball Creators tomorrow evening for our first of three games on this trip. The gym was a little warm today so it was good that the players got a sense of the environment they'll be playing in.
After shoot around, we returned to the hotel where our rooms were ready. Everyone took some much needed rest after such a long day.
At 6 p.m., we met back in the lobby to walk to dinner via a walking tour that our GSE guides had set up for us! We learned about the Teatro Real (Royal Theater) across the way from the Royal Palace of Madrid.
Our guide Maria told us all about the different churches we passed, including pointing out the differences between the older buildings (1300s-1700s) and the newer ones (1900s), showing us how the style differed.
Maria also hit us with the Madrid fun fact of the day: Madrid is actually a village, not a city!
We ended our tour at Plaza Mayor, the center of Old Madrid. The Plaza is now full of restaurants on the bottom level and apartments on the upper levels. Lots of tourists bustled about as we made our way over to our dinner spot, Los Galayos.
With a reservation for 32 at Los Galayos, the group feasted on bread, cheese, salad, croquettes, calamari, beef, assorted vegetables, and tiramisu. It was delicious.
Very full and tired after a long day, we walked home to our hotel, Hotel Emperador. One of the cooler things about this hotel is the rooftop, which gives a very unique view of Madrid!
And now, we will all get some much needed sleep before our adventure will continue tomorrow!
Day 3
Our second full day in Madrid started very slow, with most of us taking the morning to sleep in. Folks were on their own to do what they wanted. Some went for walks, some enjoyed sunbathing on our rooftop, some went shopping, and some just rested in their rooms.
We had a delicious breakfast in the morning of breads, pastries, fruit, bacon, eggs, some delicious juices, and any kind of coffee you could imagine!
Now, before the rest of our day, I have to shamelessly plug the "Mic'd Up" video of our graduate student transfer MJ Johnson, created by our Director of Creative Media, Beck Parrish. It'll give you a good chuckle!
Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled program... We had a pregame meal arranged for 3:30 p.m. so that we could tie ourselves over until after the game. Once again, some great food. While we ate, you could feel the buzz in the air. The team picked up their uniforms to have for our game that evening, and our supporters were decked out in their George Mason Basketball gear!
We left the hotel at 5:45 p.m. to head to La Caja Magica ("The Magic Box") which was the site of our first of three games on this trip. La Caja Magica is a multi-sport venue that is also the host of the Madrid Open tennis tournament.
The gym was very warm, with just two giant fans on either end to keep the air moving, but the team powered through!
The Patriots played Basketball Creators in this matchup, and though this was a friendly game, both teams came to play. I took some stats, but I did get a little wrapped up in the game, so take the following numbers with a grain of salt... Freshman Mary Amoateng left her mark on the game, finishing with 12 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Graduate student MJ Johnson also knocked down 12 points, and added nine rebounds. Returner and redshirt-junior Page Greenburg put up 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. All active players got into the game, and it was great to see the team compete against their first competition of the 2025-26 season!
As far as how the game went, the Patriots kicked off the game with 18 points to BC's 11, but by the third quarter they were tied. George Mason came out in the fourth quarter with a vengeance and finished the game 63-49. The first win of the season officially in the books!
In addition to our game today, we had a surprise visitor: Paula Suárez '25 stopped by the game fresh off her victory in Vienna, Austria with the U23 3x3 Spain team where they clinched their spot in September's U23 3x3 World Cup! It was great to see her and hear about her life since graduation. Paula recently signed to play professionally with with Bertram Dethrona BC in Italy! Their season begins in October so she's spending the summer in Spain and playing with the Spanish 3x3 team before reporting to Italy.
After the game, we all loaded back onto our bus and headed back to the hotel. Postgame meal was pizza from Ôven Mozzarella Bar (yes, that is it's real name) and an evening to ourselves.
Tomorrow's big ticket item is a tour of the Real Madrid stadium! It has been described to me as the "crème de la crème of soccer stadiums", so it should be a good one!
Day 4
Our final full day in Madrid was left relatively unscheduled to give everyone a chance to explore before we move on to Valencia tomorrow.
We met up for the first time as a group at 3:15 p.m., and at 3 p.m. the entire team rolled into the hotel with at least one shopping bag a piece. So I think it's safe to say they enjoyed their morning!
Our main adventure of the day was to the home of Real Madrid FC: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Our guide, Tate, warned us on the way there that it is always under construction, and it was, but there didn't appear to be any big things we missed, which was very lucky!
The tour was unguided, which allowed our 30+ person group to move as quickly or as slowly as we wanted in the hour we had allotted for the visit. Stops on the tour included a very informative museum of every decade of Real Madrid FC, views of the inside of the stadium, several green screen photos where you could take photos with players or the trophies, and the largest gift shop/team store I've ever seen.
Instead of trying to describe all of this, I'm going to let the photos tell the story...
After we toured the stadium we went back to the hotel. Dinner tonight was at Mercado de San Miguel, which was basically a food court for all the different spanish cuisines you could want!
Tomorrow's day starts bright and early with an 8:30 a.m. departure from Madrid. We will make our way to Valencia, with a stop in Toledo on the way. Stay tuned!
Day 5
We started the day by saying goodbye to Madrid. We boarded our bus at 8:30 a.m. for our journey to Valencia, which included a stop in Toledo.
Toledo, pronounced with a short e instead of a long e like the city in Ohio, is a small city of 85,000 residents living in a very hilly part of Spain.
Toledo is split into the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town dates back as far as the 8th Century and is a UNESCO Heritage Site for it's preservation of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim preserved architecture.
Our first stop was the overlook: a scenic spot where we could see the whole town.
We then stopped at the Damasquinados Suarez - a metal and sword making workshop that is still active to this day! We got a demonstration of how the metal turns into a sword and how they create the designs on the blade and handle.
Then, the real fun began, as we were all shepherded into the gift shop. Every size sword you can imagine, along with some beautiful jewelry and figurines, filled the room. We were assured that all swords could make the trip back to the U.S. as long as they were in checked bags!
After leaving Damasquinados Suarez, we got dropped off at the wall, which splits the old and new towns. We unloaded our bus upon arrival and spilt into two groups to go with two tour guides on a walking tour of the city. In order to get to the Old Town, you have to take a series of escalators (or stairs if you're really ambitious) up to the top of the hill where the town begins.
The city is full of narrow roads, short buildings (it is forbidden to build anything above 6 stories), and historic markers. Our guides took us past the oldest Synagogue in Spain, several muslim-inspired buildings, and the Catedral Primada de Toledo. Toledo is called "the city of three cultures" because of the coexistence (to varying degrees) of Christians, Muslims, and Jewish folks over the centuries.
After walking around the city for a while, we stopped in Zocodover Square, the main square in the Old Town. We were all given an hour to explore, eat lunch, and grab a souvenir or two before we headed back to the bus to continue our trip to Valencia.
The bus ride to Valencia was 3.5 hours. The drive was mostly rural with a small town or two we passed by. Most of us slept, which helped the time pass, but when Tate woke us up in Valencia, it was clear we weren't in Madrid anymore!
Valencia is a beach town, right on the Gulf of Valencia, which eventually flows into the Balearic Sea, and then the Atlantic Ocean. There are palm trees, wide streets, and just generally a little calmer than the hustle-and-bustle of Madrid.
The hotel is beautiful. We were given the evening to explore and get some dinner on our own. Tomorrow we will tour the city a little bit before our evening game vs. Basket Elite WBB.
Day 6
Our first full day in Valencia! Our morning started with an extensive buffet breakfast - eggs, meats, yogurts, five kinds of bread, 8 types of fruit, etc., etc... Parents, I promise your kids are not going hungry!
We then met up to go on a walking tour of the city toward the old town area. Because today was also a game day, our group was broken up into players & staff and everyone else so those who needed to prepare for the game could take a shorter tour, and everyone else could enjoy the longer tour and some exploring time.
The city of Valencia is beautiful and full of history! We learned all about King James and all he conquered Valencia in the 1200s and established it as a kingdom as a part of the "Crown of Argon", giving the city the independence it yearned for. As a result, the most popular name for a male in Valencia is James, including one of our tour guides!
After getting back to the hotel, we rested until our pre-game meal at 3:30 p.m. Again, lots of deliecious food, and the good food definitely resulted in some good basketball today!
We drove the 15 minutes to the "Club Baloncesto L'horta Godella" to face today's opponent, Basket Elite. With another strong performance on the day, the Patriots are officially 2-0 in Spain, beating Basket Elite, 63-44. Reminder that the following stats are rough, but the Bigs led the way today! Redshirt junior Zahirah Walton finished with 10 points & 8 rebounds, junior Louis Volker tallied 8 points and 10 rebounds, and redshirt sophomore Trinity Massenburg and graduate student MJ Johnson both added 8 points. Freshman Mary Amoateng had another strong game with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. And beyond these players, everyone played hard and locked down on defense today, but it was freshman Matilde Motta that Coach Blair-Lewis gave a shout out to at that end of today's game.
Motta arrived in Fairfax about 10 days before we left for Spain. Waiting for paperwork and physicals and such, she wasn't able to practice much before we left, and saw minimal minutes in our first game overseas, but she showed out tonight! Motta finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal – most of which came in a 12-3 third quarter run from the Patriots – but the stats don't do justice the hustle and intensity she brought to the court.
Motta is just one of a six-person incoming freshman class, all of whom have already shown they are willing to put in the work. Mason Nation should be very excited to come see them play in November!
The night ended with a postgame pizza dinner. Tomorrow we are headed for a beach day! Stay tuned for our fun in the sun!
Day 7
Today was an individual day of exploration!
The Westin staff had a special surprise for us at breakfast this morning: macaroons with little basketballs on them! They were delicious. The hotel staff in Valencia and Madrid have gone above and beyond to make us feel welcome and at home.
Those of us who wanted to check out the beach piled onto the bus at 11 a.m. to head to the Malvarrosa Beach. There was everything from restaurants, to shops, to beach clubs, to just plain old sand and ocean to enjoy!
The evening was unstructured as groups went out to various dinners and enjoyed our final night in Valencia.
Tomorrow we hit the road to our final city: Barcelona! Stay tuned!
Day 8
The George Mason Patriots are officially in Barcelona! We departed Valencia this morning at 10 a.m. to start our journey north. We stopped about two hours in for a lunch and bathroom break, but were back on the road shortly!
Upon arriving on the outskirts of the city, we hit some traffic, so our bus driver took a detour through the mountain, which proved to be even better for our site-seeing!
We stopped at two overlooks of the city: one of the harbor area and one of the city skyline.
While driving through the mountain, Tate told us all about the 1992 Summer Olympics that were held in Barcelona. We passed the pool, the Taekwondo/Judo center, and the opening ceremonies area with the Olympic torch!
Upon arriving at our hotel, we got about an hour to check-in and get settled before our first walking tour of the city! The tour focused on "Las Ramblas" (a famous pedestrian boulevard just a block away from our hotel) and the Gaudi architecture featured prominently in Barcelona.
After the tour, everyone got a little bit of free time to shop and then it was time for dinner! We went to Café de la Pedrera for tonight's meal, which was delicious, as all the food has been on this trip!
Tomorrow we tour the famous La Sagrada Familia Basilica in the morning, then we have an afternoon of helping with a basketball clinic, followed by our last game in Spain.
Day 9
Game day #3 start with a nourishing breakfast before we met in the lobby to see the crown jewel of Barcelona: the Basílica de la Sagrada Familia! The oldest unfinished church in the world, Sagrada Familia was designed by Antoni Gaudí, who broke ground in 1882. As of today, it's still under construction and has no expected completion date!
After the tour, we returned to the hotel to rest and have our pregame meal before headed out to help host a basketball clinic.
There were about 40 kids that came out to the clinic. With the help of our awesome Global Sports & Events guides, the gym was broken up into five stations, with George Mason coaches and players helping lead each station.
Everyone left smiling. It was a great day of basketball, and a great opportunity to give back to the country that had welcomed us so warmly!
After the clinic, we hopped back on the bus to head to the game. Upon arrival, we were greeted by an elusive friend: air conditioning in the gym! It was a great omen to start the game.
I am happy to report, the George Mason Patriots clinched their third win of the trip to finish 3-0 in Spain! We played another team under the Basket Elite umbrella, winning 75-63.
As always, these are just rough numbers, but today's top performers were: redshirt sophomore Trinity Massenburg with 15 points and 9 rebounds, graduate student MJ Johnson with 11 points and 8 rebounds, redshirt junior Zahirah Walton with 10 points and 3 steals, freshman Mary Amoateng with 11 points, redshirt junior Page Greenburg with 11 points, and freshman Leah Keyes with 9 rebounds!
Today's Basket Elite squad put up quite a fight and was leading at halftime, 33-31. But whatever was said in the locker room worked, because the Patriots outscored their opponent 29-11 in the third quarter to build a lead they rode to the victory.
Tomorrow is our final full day in Spain. An "Amazing Race" challenge is on the itinerary for the team, followed by one last trip to the beach. Until tomorrow!
Day 10
Mason Nation, we are coming to the end of our trip. Today was our final full day in Barcelona, and we made the most of it!
The players met up at 11 a.m. in the lobby for one last game: the Amazing Race! After being broken up into teams, they were given a list of tasks and places they needed to visit. Points would be assigned based on completion and speed. Any mode of transportation was fair game, but money had to be taken into account! In the end, it was Team Newbies that took the win! Stay tuned to our social media channels (@MasonWBB) for a first hand account of the race.
After the race, there was a rush to change into swimsuits and pack bags to head to the beach for one last dip in the ocean. We spent our final afternoon in Barcelona soaking up the Spain sun and enjoyed each other's company.
Everyone was given the evening to do final souvenir shopping, grab some dinner, and pack before our early departure tomorrow morning.
Day 11
We are home!
After over 14 hours of travel (and one of the bumpier landings we've had) the Patriots landed safely at Dulles. After clearing customs and getting our bags, we all piled onto the bus. There was definitely some excitment to be home, but also a wistfulness of the trip we were ending.
Though the trip maybe over, the experiences, lessons, and memories will last forever. Our athletic director, Marvin Lewis, said something the other day that really stuck with me: in this new landscape of NIL, more and more schools are opting to forego foreign tours in favor of just using that money to pay kids directly. But these trips are far more than just the money.
Over the last 11 days, I've seen our student-athletes expand their spanish culture and language knowledge, problem solve together, explore unknown cities, and build bonds that will last a lifetime. This trip was priceless to these players, and to the rest of us too!
We are beyond lucky to have taken this trip, and so before I wrap up this final entree I just want to give a few shoutouts.
First, to our Global Sports & Events staff: Agnus Berenato, Sean McShane, and Tate Cabre. These three were top notch, helping our entire travel group with logistics, recommendations, and just general moral. There was not a single moment they weren't engaged and smiling with our team and we were so grateful to have them.
Also, to the George Mason leadership team, President Gregory Washington, VP of Advancement and Alumni Relations Trishana Bowden, Athletic Director Marvin Lewis, Senior Women's Administrator/Sports Admin Nena Rogers, and so many others - Thank you! There is a lot of work behind the scenes to get a trip like this fundraised and approved and we thank you for all you did to get us to Spain.
To our fearless leader, head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis, and her staff, who sacrificed their weeks off this summer to take our student-athletes on this trip, thank you all for your hard work. And way to get those three wins! Don't underestimate the Patriots this season. This staff has been working hard to not make last season's championship a one time thing!
To our Patriot Club members and the families who traveled with us, thank you for supporting our trip and showing up to experience it with us! And an extra special thank you for your support at our three games abroad – those gyms were very warm but you all showed up and cheered loud and it meant the world to our team to have you there.
Now to the behind-the-scenes folks: director of basketball operations Nigel Bowden, graduate assistants Lauren Stack and Kate McCarney, student manager Jason Flansburg, athletic trainer Collin Gentry, strength & conditioning coach Faith Brown, director of creative media Beck Parrish, and assistant AD for academic success Cheryl Hunte were on the ground making sure everything went smoothly. Before the trip and back home while we were gone Meghan McVay, Katie Watson, and the entire George Mason Athletics business office helped make sure we had the best accommodations on this trip and were on call for additional questions while we were abroad. We literally couldn't have made this trip happen without any of them.
If I missed anyone else I promise it is due to jet lag! Thank you to all of Mason Nation for supporting this team and following along for this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
And with that, that's a wrap! Keep an eye on our social media platforms (@MasonWBB) for our 2025-26 schedule dropping soon as we look to bring home another Atlantic 10 Championship to Fairfax!