WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The
William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team defeated Old Dominion 83-80,
Thursday night inside Kaplan Arena. Down
by as many as 12 points in the second half, the College used a 25-4 second-half
run to defeat the Lady Monarchs for the first time since 1975. With the win William and Mary improves to
9-10 on the season, and 2-6 in CAA play.
The loss drops Old Dominion to 6-14 on the year and 3-5 in league
action.
Senior guard Taysha Pye led the Tribe with a game-high 23
points and six rebounds. The Bronx, N.Y.
native scored 19 of her 23 points in the second-half and fueled the College to
51 second-half points. Also leading the
way was junior forward Emily Correal, who poured in 18 points and eight
boards. Rounding out the double-digit scorers
for W&M was junior guard Janine Aldridge who tallied 15 points on 5-of-10
shooting from the floor.
In an opening half that saw eight ties and nine lead
changes, the Green and Gold struck first when Aldridge found junior Jaclyn
McKenna open for an easy lay-up, giving the College a 2-0 lead. The Lady Monarch's took a 14-12 lead after
two made free throws by Mairi Buchan. On
its very next possession the Green and Gold answered after Aldridge buried a
3-pointer, giving W&M a 15-14 advantage.
With 5:20 left to play in the opening frame Pye's lay-up
gave the Green and Gold it's largest lead of the half, 21-18. Answering right back, Old Dominion rallied
when Tiffany Minor connected from downtown, giving ODU back the lead at
31-28. A Correal jumper with 37 seconds
left put the Green and Gold back on top at 32-31. ODU's Ashley Betz-White gave the Monarch's a
34-32 halftime lead, however, as she made a 3-pointer with only 18 seconds remaining.
Leading W&M in the first half was Correal, who tallied
nine points and seven rebounds. Also
chipping in was Aldridge who registered six points, with all six coming on two
made 3-pointers. For the half, the Green
and Gold shot 11-of-34 from the field, and held a 12-3 advantage on points off
of turnovers. Eight Tribe players
notched at least two points in the opening stanza.
As the second-half got underway Old Dominion quickly added
to its lead, and with 12:39 remaining in the contest the Lady Monarch's owned a
60-49 advantage. However, an 8-0 run by
Pye cut the W&M deficit to only 62-60 with 8:27 left to go. Pye's run ignited a gigantic swing in
momentum as the Green and Gold were in the midst of a 25-4 run.
McKenna's hoop and the harm with 7:41 left, gave W&M its
first lead of the second stanza, 63-62.
Down by four, ODU's Tia Lewis drained a jumper cutting the Lady Monarch
deficit to only two, 68-66. On the very
next possession Aldridge put an end to any ODU comeback by connecting from
downtown, extending the Tribe lead to 71-66 with 4:50 left to play. The Green and Gold then reeled off
six-straight points, pushing the inevitable to 77-66 at the 3:33 mark.
At the 1:30 junction of the second frame, freshman guard
Anna Kestler connected on a pair of clutch free throws, putting the College up
81-73. A 3-pointer from ODU's Ashley
Betz-White capped off a quick 7-0 Lady Monarch run that cut the W&M lead to
only two, 82-80. With only ten seconds
remaining, the Tribe's relentless defensive effort forced Old Dominion's Jackie
Cook in to a game-changing turnover. A free
throw by senior guard Katherine DeHenzel put W&M up 83-80 with four ticks
on the clock. Betz-White's 3-pointer
from 27 feet away clanged harmlessly off the backboard as time expired, giving
William and Mary the victory.
DeHenzel had another solid, all-around game for the College,
tallying four points, six assists, and four rebounds. McKenna, limited by foul trouble, also had a
nice effort, netting nine points while grabbing seven boards.
As a team, the Tribe shot 25-of-59 for the game, thanks in
part to a hot-shooting second half that saw the College go 14-of-25 from the
floor. W&M made the Lady Monarchs
pay for their 22 turnovers on Thursday night, scoring 30 points off ODU
mistakes. The Tribe also had a 34-10
advantage on bench points and a 22-13 lead in fast-break points.
The win over Old Dominion for William and Mary snapped a
52-game losing streak to the Lady Monarchs that dated back to February 6, 1975.
The College returns to action Sunday, January 29 as it
travels to Northeastern for a conference tilt with the Huskies. Tip-off from Matthew's Arena is scheduled for
2 p.m. Fans can follow all of the action
online at TribeAthletics.com.
