WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William and Mary women's basketball nearly erased a late five-point deficit, but couldn't overcome Delaware, falling 61-56 on Friday night in Kaplan Arena. Sophomore Marlena Tremba led the Tribe with 19 points. With the decision, the Tribe falls to 11-13, 5-8 in Colonial Athletic Association play, while the Blue Hens improve to 13-11, 8-5 in league action.
Tremba added four rebounds and three assists to go with her 19 points. Senior Kyla Kerstetter was the only other Tribe player in double-figures with a season-high 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.
Delaware opened the game on an 8-2 run to build a six-point lead by the same score. Hannah Jardine opened the scoring with a jumper. Following a Tribe basket, Erika Brown and Jardine hit jumpers, before Courtni Green responded with a layup.
The Tribe used a 13-0 run to build a 15-8 lead with 9:03 remaining in the opening half. Kerstetter sparked the run with a layup, followed by back-to-back triples from Tremba and Kerstetter, which gave the Tribe its first lead at 10-8. Tremba canned another three, before freshman Abby Rendle hit a layup, making it 15-8.
W&M built its lead to 10 points in the first half, but the Blue Hens closed the stanza on an 10-0 run of its own to build a 30-28 lead at the break. A pair of Green free throws opened the run, before Joy Caracciolo hit a traditional three-point play. Brown hit a pair from the line, before Green hit a triple with just 24 seconds left in the period.
The second-half was back and forth with neither building more than a two-possession lead until nearly mid-way through the half. Trailing by five points with just over three minutes remaining, W&M used a quick 4-0 spurt to cut the lead to one point. Sophomore Latrice Hunter hit a putback layup to start the rally. On the ensuing inbounds, senior Jazmen Boone picked up a steal and fed Tremba, who buried the shot, to make the score 57-56 with 1:59.
Delaware answered with a Stephanie Leon layup to extend its lead to 59-56. W&M had a pair of chances to tie the score late, but Tremba's 3-point attempts didn't get the home bounce. The Blue Hens hit a pair of free throws late to extend the lead, and pick up the 61-56 victory.
Both teams took care of the ball well, finishing below their season averages in turnovers. Delaware had just 11 turnovers, while the Tribe had seven steals. On the other hand, W&M had 14 turnovers on 12 Delaware steals.
W&M shot just 34.9-percent (22-of-63) from the field for the game. However, the Tribe was able to limit the Blue Hens to 36.9-percent (24-of-65) from the field.
Boone finished with eight points and eight rebounds for the Green and Gold, while adding four assists. Rendle chipped in six points, eight rebounds, and four of the Tribe's seven blocks in the game.
Brown led Delaware with a game-high 22 pints and two rebounds. Green was also in double-figures for the Hens scoring10 points. Makeda Nicholas just missed a double-double going for nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The College concludes its brief two-game home stand as it welcomes the College of Charleston for a game on Sunday, Feb. 15. Tipoff for the Tribe's “Pink Game” is set for 2 p.m.
