RICHMOND, Va. - The William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team earned a hard-fought
CAA road win Thursday evening, 66-63, against league rival VCU. Seniors Taysha Pye and Katherine DeHenzel
paced the College, scoring 15 points each.
The victory on Thursday night was the Tribe's first win at VCU since the
2005-06 season. The total team effort
improved William and Mary's record to 10-15 on the year and 3-11 in CAA play,
while the Rams fell to 14-11 overall and 7-7 in league action.
Pye added seven rebounds and
four steals, while DeHenzel was 5-of-8 from the floor and dished out a
team-high four assists. Junior guard
Taylor Hilton poured in 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and pulled down four
rebounds. Juniors Jaclyn McKenna and
Janine Aldridge scored nine points a-piece, while Aldridge also finished with a
game-high six steals.
In the opening minutes of
the contest, the Tribe got out to a quick 2-0 lead after an Emily Correal made
jumper from the baseline. Over the
course of the next nine minutes, VCU raced out to a 19-11 advantage. The Green and Gold responded by reeling off
an 11-3 run that tied the score up at 22-22 with 5:58 left to play in the first
half. Aldridge poured in all five of her
first half points during the response, and the run culminated when DeHenzel
netted a 15-footer, knotting the score up at 22 all.
As halftime approached, the
competition heated up. After VCU's
Christina Carter put the Rams ahead, 24-22, DeHenzel answered right back,
draining a jumper on the very next possession, tying the score back up at
24-24. With 40 seconds remaining in the
opening stanza, a Robyn Hobson made 3-pointer gave VCU a 29-26 lead. In no mood to change the first half script,
DeHenzel retaliated by nailing a trey with just under 20 seconds left in the half,
tying the score once again, 29-29. In
the closing moments of the frame, a Courtney Hurt lay in off the glass gave VCU
a 31-29 halftime lead.
Pye and DeHenzel paced the
Tribe attack in the opening stanza scoring nine points each. Aldridge and Correal chipped in five and four
points, respectively. As a team in the
first half, W&M tallied eight steals.
Pye and Aldridge accounted for seven of eight thefts.
Second half play got
underway just how first half play ended, with both squads matching each other
point- for- point, bucket- for- bucket.
At the 10:22 mark of the second half, two McKenna made free throws gave
W&M its first lead, 45-43, since the opening minutes of the first stanza. With the score tied up at 45-45, the Green
and Gold seized control of the game with an 11-4 run. Hilton capped the W&M run with a nothing
but nylon jumper and extended the Tribe lead to, 56-49, with 6:25 left to play.
After a Ram bucket made the
score 56-51 with 6:03 left to play, momentum seemed to shift after a Hurt steal
and seemingly fast break lay-up.
However, with the fate of the game in the balance, DeHenzel established
position and drew the charge call on hurt, shifting momentum back in the
Tribe's favor.
Up one with just 1:51
remaining, the Tribe went ahead for good after a Hilton tip in off of a missed
jumper, giving the Tribe a 60-57 edge.
Two April McRae free throws with 31 seconds left, brought VCU to within
two, at 62-60, but clutch free-throw shooting from DeHenzel and Pye trumped any
VCU miracle. As the final horn sounded,
a VCU desperation heave fell well short, and the College left the Siegel Center
with a 66-63 victory.
For the game, the College
shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the floor, and went 13-of-16 from the foul
line. W&M tallied 13 steals on the
night, and held the advantage over VCU in points off of turnovers (10-4) and
second chance points (10-9). VCU
finished the game shooting 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field. Hurt's 21 points and 11 rebounds led the
Rams. Hobson and Carleeda Green scored
13 and 12 points, respectively. The
College held VCU's Andrea Barbour scoreless.
Barber entered the game averaging 17.4 points per game.
The Tribe returns home to
Kaplan Arena on Sunday, Feb.19, as it plays host to UNCW Seahawks. Tip-off from Williamsburg is slated for 2
p.m. Fans can follow all of the action
online at TribeAthletics.com with live video, audio and stats.
