PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The
William and Mary Tribe women's basketball team fell to Drexel, 72-43, Thursday
night inside of the Daskalaskis Center.
The setback drops the Tribe to 10-17 on the year and 3-13 in the CAA,
while Drexel improves to 14-12 overall and 10-6 in league action.
Junior guard Taylor Hilton continued her strong play as she
scored a team-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Junior forward Emily Correal tallied eight
points and six rebounds, while senior guard Taysha Pye chipped in with six
points.
At the beginning of the game, each team got off to hot starts
as the score was tied up at six less than two minutes into the game. However, a Drexel 13-2 run put the Dragons
ahead, 19-8, with 14:35 left to play in the opening half. The Dragons connected on their first 12 shots
of the game in taking the early lead.
Correal's basket with 9:40 remaining in the half cut the
Drexel lead to 27-17. The Dragons responded
with a run, and as the half came to an end, Drexel took a 44-24 advantage into
the locker rooms.
Hilton paced the Tribe with eight first-half points, six of which
came from 3-point territory. Pye and
Correal rounded out the first-half effort scoring six and four points,
respectively.
As the second half got underway, Drexel's momentum from
opening frame carried over into the second.
Every W&M basket was countered with a Drexel bucket. Midway through the second half Drexel owned a
58-39 advantage and did not look back as it closed out a 72-43 home victory.
Highlighting the College effort in the second half was the
play of freshmen Kyla Kerstetter and Jazmen Boone. Kerstetter netted five second-half points
while Boone notched two points and two assists.
Freshmen walk-on Dana Lotito recorded a steal in two minutes of action in
her return home to the Philadelphia area.
For the game, the College shot 43.9 percent (18-of-41) from
the floor. From 3-point range, W&M
finished the contest 3-of-7. Defensively, the Tribe tallied 10 steals and held
the advantage in bench points over Drexel, 21-11. Drexel finished the game shooting 51.8
percent (29-of-56) from the field.
Kamile Nacickaite led the Dragons with a game-high 21 points and five
rebounds, while Taylor Wootton chipped in with 17.
The Tribe returns to action Sunday, Feb. 26, as it travels
to Atlanta, Ga., to face the Georgia State Panthers. Tip-off from the Georgia
State Sports Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m.
