The William and Mary women's basketball team went on the road Thursday night and lead for much of the second half against Old Dominion, before ultimately falling to the Monarchs 70-65.

Tribe junior Taysha Pye (Bronx, N.Y.) led all players on the night with 17 points, while also contributing six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.  Freshman Kaitlyn Mathieu (Waterboro, Maine) scored 12 with eight rebounds, and captain Katherine DeHenzel (Bowie, Md.) matched her with 12 points.  DeHenzel also dished out five assists and stole the ball four times.  Sophomore Taylor Hilton (Washington, D.C.) was the fourth in double-digits, scoring 11 with four rebounds, and Jaclyn McKenna (Huntington, N.Y.) nearly made it five with nine points and six rebounds.

The Monarchs controlled much of the first half, going ahead by as many as 14 with 5:47 left, but the Tribe began shifting momentum in its favor that would carry over into the second half.  Mathieu and McKenna knocked in three of four free throws to ignite a 9-1 rally for W&M over the next two minutes, which was capped by a lay-up from McKenna to cut the lead to six at 27-21.  Old Dominion would get back out to a 12-point lead with 50 seconds left, but a driving lay-up by Pye and an ODU turnover set sophomore Emily Correal (Venetia, Pa.) up for a three on the wing as time expired, cutting the lead back down to seven (34-27) and giving the Tribe a jolt going into the lockers.

Coming back out for the second half, the College continued its hot streak and scored 10 of the first 13 points to tie the game for the first time on a jumper by Mathieu, 37-37 with just over 16 minutes remaining.  ODU was able to keep scrambling in front by a basket each time down the floor over the next three minutes, but the Tribe would immediately answer to retie the contest, and finally, took the lead on another shot by Mathieu in transition, 45-43 with 13:15 on the clock.  Pye followed up with a pair of free throws to push the W&M lead to its biggest of the night at four, and the game was on in earnest.  The Green and Gold was able to stay in front for the next five minutes, taking its final lead at 55-54 on a jumper by Hilton, but a Monarch jumper with 6:40 remaining swung the lead back to the home team for the final time.  The Tribe would cut the lead as close as one several times, including on a jumper from Pye with 1:29 remaining, but good ODU defense and mounting foul trouble kept W&M from completing the comeback.

William and Mary hits the road for the final time on Sunday, traveling to face Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond at 2 p.m.