Finding a home away from home at Mason

Nicole Cardaño-Hillary has been playing basketball since the third grade in her native Spain. Her mother, who used to play basketball herself, encouraged her.

That encouragement, along with Cardaño-Hillary’s exceptional athletic ability, paid off in March, when the George Mason University 5-foot-7 sophomore guard was named the Atlantic 10 Conference’s Player of the Year. That honor came one season after Cardaño-Hillary was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year and became the first player in A-10 history to win those awards in back-to-back seasons.

“Man, it was something else, truly,” Cardaño-Hillary said. “Through all my years in basketball and all that training I’ve done and all the hours I’ve put in, it’s really gratifying to see that it’s paying off. It definitely put a smile on my face.”

That smile extends to Cardaño-Hillary’s time at Mason, where the communication major said the diversity of the student body makes the campus special. She said she has the same feeling about her teammates.

“When I came on my official visit, the coaches and the players, it felt like the culture of the team was real,” Cardaño-Hillary said.

Whether on the court or off, that feeling of connection is important, “because you know when you are not connected, you’re not together,” she said.

Cardaño-Hillary led the Atlantic 10, and tied for 16th nationally, with an average 20.4 points per game. She also had a conference-best 65 steals and was fifth with 95 assists.

Her top moment as a player? Making a buzzer-beating three-pointer on February 24 to give Mason a 54-51 victory over the University of Dayton.

“Just seeing my teammates come up and congratulate me and hug me, and seeing the fans cheer, I mean, it was an amazing experience I’ll never forget,” Cardaño-Hillary said.

“She’s a competitor and loves to win,” Mason women’s basketball coach Nyla Milleson said. “She has a natural knack for scoring the basketball and the ability to take and make tough shots. She’s been a great teammate and has been a key piece to our success [during those] past two seasons.”

When her college career is over, Cardaño-Hillary, who has a concentration in public relations within her communication major, said she wants to go into broadcasting—about basketball, of course.