BLACKSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team used a total team effort on both
ends of the floor to earn a road victory at Virginia Tech on Monday night,
78-59. With the win, the Tribe improves
its record to 2-2 on the season, while the Hokies fall to 2-2 on the year.
The College was led by junior Janine Aldridge, who recorded
her first career double-double with a team-high 20 points and a game-high 11
rebounds. Aldridge did most of her
damage from beyond the arc, matching a Cassell Coliseum record with six
3-pointers. Aldridge finished the night
7-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-11 from deep.
Senior Katherine DeHenzel kept up her terrific play this
season, totaling seven points, 10 assists, five steals, and four rebounds. Junior Jaclyn McKenna had 15 points on 6-of-7
shooting from the field while grabbing six boards. Classmate and fellow post Emily Correal also
had a nice game, scoring six points and collecting 10 rebounds.
The Tribe came out of the blocks in a hurry on Monday night,
storming out to an 11-0 run to start the game, quieting the Hokies faithful in
the process. McKenna had the first six
points for the College, hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key to start the
game and then following that with a traditional three-point play after hitting
a layup and getting fouled. Also scoring
for the Green and Gold in the flurry was Aldridge who hit a three and DeHenzel
who sank a pair of free throws.
On their home court, Virginia Tech mounted a charge of its
own led by sophomore guard Monet Tellier, who led the Hokies with 13 first-half
points. Tellier finished the night with
a game and career-high 31 points. At
the 9:00 mark, the Tribe lead had been cut to five, 20-15.
The five-point deficit was as close as the Hokies would come
in the first half, as the Tribe ended the first 20 minutes on a 21-9 run to
seize control of the game. In the charge,
seven Tribe player scored, helping the Green and Gold take a 41-24 lead in to
the halftime break.
At the end of the first half, the College was led by
Aldridge and McKenna, who each had 11 points.
McKenna was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, while Aldridge hit on
3-of-6 from three. Correal had six points and four rebounds at the break, while
DeHenzel had another all-around first 20 minutes, totaling four points, five
assists, four steals, and three rebounds.
As a team in the first half, the Tribe shot 13-of-30
(43.3%), while holding Virginia Tech to just 11-of-31 (35.5%). The College also forced VT in to 10 turnovers
in the first half, while also out-rebounding them, 19-17.
The Tribe picked up right where it left off in its first two
possession of the second half, as Aldridge drilled a pair of 3-pointers to
extend the Tribe's lead to 21, 47-26.
The Hokies responded with an extended run, however, not letting the
College pull away. Over the next 5:13
minutes, Tech outscored the Tribe 15-2, cutting the William and Mary lead to
six points, 59-53.
On the next Tribe possession, sophomore Kaitlyn Mathieu put
an end to the Hokies' run, burying a 3-pointer to push the Green and Gold's
lead back to nine. After a VT bucket cut
the lead back to seven, Mathieu answered once again, hitting another from deep
to extend the College's lead back to double figures at 67-57. W&M's advantage would never get back to
single digits, as the Tribe ended the last 6:14 minutes of the game on a 13-4
run.
Coming up big for the Tribe in the second half were Mathieu
and senior guard Taysha Pye, who saw her first action of the season on Monday
night. Mathieu scored nine of her 13
points in the second half, while Pye netted 12 of her 15 points in the final 20
minutes.
Using the 13-4 run, William and Mary defeated Virginia Tech,
78-59. The win is the second in the last
three meetings for the Tribe, with its last victory over the Hokies coming in
Blacksburg in during the 2006 season.
For the game, the Tribe shot 27-of-63 (42.9%) from the floor
including 11-of-21 (52.4%) from outside.
Led by DeHenzel, the College dished out 20 assists on the night while
only turning the ball over 10 times.
W&M out-rebounded Tech, 41-31, while shooting an impressive 13-of-14
(92.9%) from the free-throw line.
The Tribe's bench came through against Virginia Tech,
outscoring the Hokies' subs, 30-5. The
College also had a 20-9 advantage in second chance points and scored 18 points
off the 13 Tech turnovers.
The William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team will next
be in action on Monday, November 28, when the College will hit the road to play
at Norfolk State. Tip-off in Norfolk is
scheduled for 6 p.m.
