ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The
William and Mary women's basketball team dropped a tightly contested decision
at Navy, 69-64, on Tuesday night at Alumni Hall. Senior Emily Correal led W&M with a
game-high 21 points, while classmate Janine Aldridge poured in 13 points, four
rebounds and four assists. Aldridge's
3-pointer with 3:31 remaining tied the contest, 62-62, but Navy scored the next
five points en route to the win. The
setback drops W&M to 2-5 on the season, while Navy improves to 6-4.
Senior Taylor Hilton turned in a solid performance that
consisted of 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. Sophomore Jazmen Boone paced the College with
seven rebounds while tallying four points.
W&M finished the contest shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the
floor, which included a 50 percent output (9-of-18) from 3-point territory. The Tribe owned the advantage in rebounds
(44-34) second-chance points (15-9) and fast break points (8-6).
W&M put nine points on scoreboard before Navy managed to
net a bucket. Hilton initiated the
scoring with a 3-pointer just 29 seconds into the tilt, and Correal's lay up at
the 17:30 mark capped the early spurt.
After the Mids finally got on the board courtesy of junior
Kara Pollinger's lay in off the glass, W&M responded with six consecutive
points and led, 15-2, at the 14:42 juncture.
Navy pulled to with in single digits, 20-13, when sophomore Chloe
Stapleton netted a trey with 10:34 remaining.
The single digit deficit was short lived, on the very next possession,
after Hilton buried a trifecta off an assist from senior Jaclyn McKenna which
pushed the College's margin to 23-13 with 10:11 left in the opening half.
On the verge of letting the half slip away, Navy responded
with a 15-5 run as junior Jade Geif's lay up tied the affair, 28-28, at the
5:48 juncture. For the remainder of the
half, the lead changed hands on multiple occasions, but Navy netted a pair of
free-throws to take a 38-37 halftime lead.
With 15:37 remaining in the contest, Navy had pushed its
advantage to 50-45. However, Aldridge
caught fire to start the second stanza as the Massapequa, N.Y., native drilled
her second trey in a matter of 18 seconds, which tied the game, 43-43, before the
Mids scored the next seven out of nine points.
Navy extended the margin to nine, 55-46, at the 13:55 mark
after a Stapleton 3-pointer. Needing a
spark, the College fought its way back into the contest with smothering defense
and timely points. For the next eight
minutes, the Green and Gold forced four Navy turnovers, collected two steals
and held the Mids to five points as freshman Brook Stewart's trey zapped the
deficit to four, 60-56, at the 5:51 mark.
Aldridge's third 3-pointer of the evening tied the game for
the seventh time, 62-62, with 3:31 remaining in regulation. On their very next possession, the Mids took
the lead for good as junior Alix Membreno knocked down a 3-pointer at the 3:11
juncture. After another Navy basket
extended the deficit, 67-62, McKenna's bucket brought the Tribe
back to within a possession, 67-64, with 16 seconds left. Navy proceeded to miss the front end of a
one-and-one, but the Mids came up with a timely steal as it secured the win.
Stapleton led Navy with 20 points, while Geif finished the
night with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Mids shot 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the field and 26.5 percent
(9-of-34) from 3-point range.
The Tribe returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 8, when it
travels to Radford for a 4:30 p.m. contest.
