WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Sophomore Latrice Hunter went coast-to-coast and hit a layup with just over four seconds remaining to push the William and Mary women's basketball team to a 72-71 victory over Loyola in the season opener. Sophomores Alexandra Masaquel and Kasey Curtis had career nights in the victory. Masaquel recorded her first career double-double with career-highs in 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Curtis added a career-high of 16 points off of the bench. With the victory, the Tribe improves to 1-0, while the Greyhounds fall to 0-1.
The Tribe offense came out strong and used an early 8-2 run to build a six-point lead at that mark. Sophomore Marlena Tremba opened the scoring with a layup that was followed by a Masaquel layup. After a Loyola basket, freshmen Jenna Green and Abby Rendle each hit back-to-back buckets, moving the margin to 8-2.
After Loyola cut the W&M lead to 15-14, The Tribe used an 8-0 run to build its largest lead of the first half at 26-17. The rally started on a jumper from Curtis, followed up by a triple from Tremba. The final basket came on a 3-pointer from sophomore Brooke Stewart.
Loyola used a 15-6 run to close out the first half of play, and take a one-point lead into the locker room. Bri Betz-White and Collen Marshall each had five points during the outbreak, including a lay-in by Betz-White as time expired, giving the Greyhounds a 33-32 halftime advantage.
The early stages of the second half went back-and-forth with neither taking more than a three-point advantage. Trailing by three with 15:37 remaining, the Tribe used a 7-0 spurt to regain a four-point advantage. Masaquel started the run with a lay-up. Then, Curtis completed a traditional three-point play to regain the lead for the Tribe. Masaquel capped the run with a lay-up to push the advantage to 49-45.
Again in the second half, W&M was able to build its advantage back nine points. A 6-0 run at the 10-minute mark regained a 62-53 advantage. Curtis opened the run with a jumper, followed by Hunter burying a pair from the charity stripe. Masaquel finished the run with a lay-up at the 7:45 clip.
The Greyhounds never went away, and again clawed back into the ball game. Loyola used a 13-1 run to build a three-point lead with a 1:41 to go. Diana Logan led the spurt with six points, including the go-ahead triple, while Marshall added five points during the run.
Trailing by a point, Masaquel skied to grab a rebound with 12 seconds left off a missed free throw. Hunter took over from there, driving the length of the floor for a layup. On the ensuing inbound senior Jazmen Boone deflected the pass away, and time expired.
Tremba was the third Tribe player in double-figures, finishing with 14 points and four rebounds. Masaquel's 16 boards were the most since Emily Correal pulled down 21 against George Mason in 2013. Boone finished just shy of a double-double scoring nine points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Curtis, who had a career-high 16 points, shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor.
W&M shot 52.8-percent from the floor, which was the best since Feb. 16, 2014 when they set a school record shooting 61.2-percent against UNCW. Every player that played for the College scored a point. The opening night victory was the first for the Tribe since Nov. of 2011.
Marshall, who set a career-high with 28 points, led Loyola. Betz-White finished in double-figures with 14 points in the contest.
The College hits the road for its next three contests. The road trip begins at Old Dominion on Monday, Nov. 17 with a 7 p.m. matchup. Next weekend, the Green and Gold head to North Carolina to take on North Carolina A&T (Nov. 21) and High Point (Nov. 23).
