WILLIAMSBURG, Va.
- The William and Mary women's basketball team fell to No. 8 Delaware, 79-53,
Wednesday evening inside of Kaplan Arena. With the setback, the Tribe closes
the 2011-12 regular season with an overall record of 10-19 and a CAA ledger of
3-15, while Delaware finishes with a record of 27-1 and a perfect league mark
of 18-0.
Playing their last game at Kaplan Arena, seniors Katherine DeHenzel and Taysha Pye led the Tribe effort against Delaware. DeHenzel scored seven points and dished out a
game-high eight assists, while Pye poured in 14 points to go along with six
rebounds. Junior Janine Aldridge tallied
a team-high 15 points, which included four 3-pointers. Juniors Jaclyn McKenna and Emily Correal
scored nine and six points, respectively.
An energized W&M squad came out of the gates swinging
against the nation's eighth ranked team.
A Pye lay in off the glass with 17:01 remaining in the first gave the
Tribe an early 9-6 lead. Delaware's
Elena Delle Donne put the Blue Hen's back up, 10-9, after a made jumper with
13:26 left in the first. Going
back-and-forth, Pye responded with a netted jumper of her own, which put the
College back ahead, 11-10 with 12:48 left in the opening stanza.
Mid-way through the opening frame, Delaware seized control
of the contest with a 17-6 run, and with 5:06 left in the half, UD owned a
30-17 lead. Hanging tough, W&M
responded with four straight points to close the half, which included a Pye
drive to the basket with only three seconds left on the first-half clock. After the first 20 minutes of action,
Delaware held a 39-26 advantage.
Only 20 seconds into the second frame, Aldridge brought the
Kaplan Arena crowd to its feet with a drained 3-pointer that cut the Blue Hen
lead to 10 at 39-29. After holding
Delaware scoreless for the opening two minutes of the half, the Tribe was
unable to trim the lead into single-digits.
The missed opportunities allowed Delaware to extend its cushion, and
with 10 minutes left to play, the visitors held a 61-45 lead.
A come-from-behind victory on senior night was not in the
cards as Delaware distanced itself from the College in the final minutes of
play. However, the Tribe's effort and
intensity did not waver a single ounce.
With 1:30 left to play in the game, senior Katherine DeHenzel exited the
Kaplan Arena court to a standing ovation one final time. Senior Taysha Pye was given a standing
ovation as well, as the Bronx N.Y., native left the contest with 35 seconds
remaining. As the final horn sounded,
Delaware closed out the regular season finale with a 79-53 victory over the
College.
W&M shot 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the floor and held
the advantage in fast break points over UD, 11-2. For the game, Delaware shot 51.6 (33-of-64)
from the field. Delle Donne scored a
game-high 26 points to lead the Blue Hen attack, while Danielle Parker and
Lauren Carra poured in 14 points apiece.
The Tribe returns to action on Thursday, March 8, as it
plays VCU in the first round of the 2012 Virginia 529 CAA Women's Basketball
Championship from Upper Marlboro. Md.
Tip-off for the Tribe's first-round tilt with the Rams is scheduled for
7:30 p.m., from the Show Place Arena.
