WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team put forth a valiant, late run
but was unable to get the win against VCU on Sunday afternoon, falling 83-80 at
Kaplan Arena. With the loss, the Tribe
falls to 8-8 on the season overall and to 1-4 in the CAA, while the Rams
improves to 11-5 on the season and to 4-1 in conference play.
Junior Janine Aldridge led the way for the College, scoring
a team-high 25 points, including nine in the last 37 seconds of the game. Emily Correal recorded her sixth-straight
double-double, scoring 16 points while grabbing 12 rebounds, while senior Taysha Pye added 17 points to go with seven rebounds and four assists.
The visiting Rams were first in getting their offense
clicking on Sunday afternoon in Williamsburg, running out to an early, 22-11
lead with 12:50 left in the first half.
The Tribe's offense then clicked in to gear, going on a 9-0 run over the
next three minutes to cut the deficit to just two, 22-20. During the stretch, Correal had four points
for the Tribe, while Aldridge added a bucket.
Junior Taylor Hilton put an exclamation point on the run, burying a
3-pointer from the right corner.
Undeterred, the Rams kept getting the ball to their
All-American from a year ago, Courtney Hurt.
Behind 19 first half points from Hurt, the Rams took a 45-33 lead in to
the halftime break.
Leading the way for the College in the first 20 minutes was
Correal, who tallied a team-high eight points and five rebounds in the first
frame. Aldridge also had a nice half,
adding six points while grabbing three boards.
As a team, the Tribe shot 14-of-34 (41.2%) in the first half, dishing
out 10 assists on its 14 made baskets.
VCU was again the aggressor offensively coming out of the
break, taking a 50-34 lead with 18:15 left in the second half. Refusing to let the game get out of hand, the
Tribe took off on a 12-2 run, cutting the Rams' lead to just six at the 13:37
mark, 52-46.
Over the course of the next 10 minutes, the Tribe and Rams
exchanged baskets, with VCU not letting the College get any closer than
six. With just 4:03 left in the
ballgame, VCU had pushed its lead back to double-digits, 74-63. Right back came the Tribe, as they reeled off
the game's next eight points to cut the score to 74-71 with 1:47 remaining.
After the Rams went on a mini, 4-0 run the score was 78-71
with less than a minute to go. That's
when Aldridge caught fire and took the game over for William and Mary. Coming off a screen, Aldridge buried a
3-pointer from the top of the key, cutting the lead to 78-74 with 37 second
left. After two made VCU free throws,
freshman Kyla Kerstetter found Aldridge again, this time from the right corner. With no hesitation, Aldridge nailed the trey,
pulling the Tribe to within three, 80-77.
After fouling, VCU's Andrea Barbour made one of two free
throws, pushing the lead to 81-77 with just 16 seconds remaining. After getting the ball down the court,
Aldridge took a pass four feet from behind the arc. Again, Aldridge pulled from deep, drilling
the 3-pointer to bring the College with a point of the Rams, 81-80.
Clutch down the stretch, the Rams' Robyn Hobson converted on
both of her free throws. With five
seconds left, W&M trailed by three.
Unable to find Aldridge, Pye passed the ball to McKenna in the right
corner. Guarded tightly, McKenna got off
a one-handed effort that went just long off the back iron, securing the wild
win for VCU, 83-80.
For the game, the Tribe shot 44.6% (29-of-65) from the
field, including 10-of-20 (50%) from beyond the arc. The College played unselfishly on Sunday,
dishing out 21 assists on the day.
Senior Katherine DeHenzel led the Tribe with eight assists on the afternoon,
pushing her season average to 5.9 a game.
The William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team will be
back in action on Thursday, January 19 when the College will hit the road to
take on CAA-rival George Mason. Tip-off
in Fairfax is scheduled for 7 p.m.
