Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis turned a struggling program into Atlantic 10 Conference champions in just four years, leading George Mason University’s women’s basketball team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

When Blair-Lewis took over the program four years ago, the team hadn’t won a single game in the Atlantic 10 Conference the previous season. The coaches had to sell recruits on a vision with no proof it would work.

“When you go into someone’s house and say, ‘We want you to come over here,’ and they look and say, ‘Coach, you guys didn’t win a game last year,’ and I’m asking you to believe something that there’s no evidence of ... that’s a big challenge,” Blair-Lewis said.

Her approach to building the program centered on a season-long mantra: “running our own race.” This philosophy was inspired by Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles, who Blair-Lewis noticed would often be behind for most of a race but finish strong.

“Last year, we suffered some rejection in the tournament,” she said. “We spent our whole summer running our race, from getting out of the blocks, to the power of the race, to finishing strong ... going from rejection the year before to redemption.”

Local Talent, Growing Support

Blair-Lewis has built her program primarily with local talent, with about 60% of the roster coming from the Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia region. As a DMV native, having played at Largo High School (for her dad) and Mount Saint Mary’s University, she understood the rich basketball talent in the area.

“We sit in the biggest hotbed of basketball,” Blair-Lewis said. “I just figured if I could get this opportunity and be able to pour back into the DMV, which is what we’ve done, I knew we could do something special.”

The community has responded to the team’s success, and home game attendance has grown significantly during her tenure. Local officials, including County Executive Bryan Hill and Fairfax City Mayor Catherine Read, and other community leaders, attended the games.

“A team can only be as successful as a community that supports it,” said Blair-Lewis, adding, “We want to be Northern Virginia’s champion.”

Challenges in Modern College Basketball

Like all college coaches, Blair-Lewis faces the challenges of the transfer portal and Name, Image and Likeness deals.

“I think it’s such a new landscape that we all are trying to find a way to adjust,” Blair-Lewis said. 

Despite these challenges, Blair-Lewis remains focused on building a program with staying power, including recruiting freshmen rather than just focusing on transfers.

Blair-Lewis sees her role as developing not just basketball players but future leaders. 

“We talk a lot about more than basketball — becoming the leaders in this community for your children’s children,” she said. “What they should walk away with is resiliency, confidence, a chance to walk into any room and say, ‘I can do this.’”

Looking Ahead

Despite losing several key players to graduation, including Paula Suárez, an Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player, and other significant contributors, Blair-Lewis remains optimistic about the future.

“I told a group of Mason people [at her initial press conference four years ago] to believe big with me, to believe bigger than what they’ve been. That I was going to hang banners in this gym, not one, but with an s.” Four years later, she’s delivered on that promise — and made it clear she’s not finished yet.

Listen to the podcast: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/connect-with-county-leaders-podcast-coach-vanessa-blair-lewis