PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – For the second straight game the William and Mary women's basketball team prevailed in a double-overtime, dropping Drexel 72-68 in two extra sessions in Philadelphia on Friday night. Senior Jazmen Boone led five Tribe players in double-figures with a game-high 16 points. With the win, the Tribe, which won its fourth straight game, moved its record to 11-11, 5-6 in Colonial Athletic Association play, while the Dragons fall to 14-8, 8-3 in league action.
Boone added two rebounds, two assists, one block, and three steals to go along with her 16 points. Freshman Abby Rendle chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Senior Kyla Kerstetter was in double-figures for the second straight game, scoring 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Sophomores Latrice Hunter and Marlena Tremba each had 11 points, apiece. Hunter chipped in five assists, while Tremba had seven boards, two assists, and three steals.
Leading 12-10, Drexel used a 6-0 run to build its first eight-point lead of the game at 18-10 with 10:01 to play in the first half. Rachel Pearson sandwiched a pair jumpers around an Alexis Smith basket to account for the scoring.
W&M used 8-2 run towards the end of the half to cut the lead to two points, 24-22, with 3:09 to play. Kerstetter started the run with the first six points of the spurt. The run ended on a layup by sophomore Alexandra Masaquel.
Drexel was able to build a 29-24 lead, but the Tribe closed the half with the final three points on a basket from Masaquel and a free throw from Rendle, making the score 29-27 at the break.
After the Dragons built a 33-29 lead with 18:20 left in the game, W&M responded with a 7-0 spurt to take its first lead. Tremba buried a triple to start the rally, followed by a pair of free throws from Boone, giving the Tribe its first lead of the night. A jumper from Kerstetter pushed the Tribe lead to 36-33 with 13:28 to play.
With 5:45 to play trailing by five, Drexel used a 6-0 run to take a 43-42 lead with 3:44 left in regulation. A pair of jumpers from Curran cut the Tribe lead to a point, before Jamila Thompson hit a layup to give the Dragons the lead.
Although the scoring was sparse down the stretch, the lead changed twice, before Hunter hit a free throw to tie the score at 45-45 with 27 seconds left. W&M was able to hold the Dragons without a field goal on their final possession to force overtime.
Drexel used a 7-0 run halfway through the first overtime to take a 56-50 lead with 1:55 to play. Jackie Schluth hit a jumper to give the Dragons the lead back. Alexis Smith hit a jumper, before Kelsi Lidge hit a traditional three-point play, ending the run.
The Tribe responded with a 7-1 run to force a second overtime. The run was sparked by a pair of free throws from Hunter, before Tremba canned a triple from the top of the arc. After a Curran free throw, Boone stepped to the line and buried two free throws to tie the score at 57-57. Again the Tribe came up with a stop on the final Drexel possession of overtime.
In the second overtime, W&M used a 4-0 run to gain some separation, and was able to hit enough free throws to maintain its lead. Hunter started the run with two free throws, before Kerstetter knocked down two of her own. Down the stretch the Tribe hit 6-of-7 from the stripe, and held on for 72-68 victory.
The Tribe, which shot better than 40-percent from the field for the 12th time this season, shot a season-high 83.9-percent (26-for-31) from the stripe. Boone, who shot a school record tying 10-of-10 from the free throw line, led W&M at the charity stripe.
For the second straight game against the Dragons, W&M forced Drexel into a season-high in turnovers with 26 turnovers in the game. The Tribe had 13 steals in the game led by three apiece from Masaquel, Boone, and Tremba.
W&M moved its winning streak to four games with the victory tonight. It matches the program's longest winning streak since the Tribe won four-straight games from Dec. 12, 2011 to Jan. 5, 2012.
The College, which defeated Northeastern in double overtime on Sunday, played back-to-back overtime games for the first time since 2011. It was the first-time in school history that the Tribe played back-to-back double overtime games.
Masaquel finished the game with eight points, but grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with one assists, one block, and three steals.
Schluth led Drexel with 14 points, to go along with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Pearson, who didn't score in the second half, and Smith each finished with 11 points, while Carrie Alexander had 10 points.
The College returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 8 as it concludes its three-game road trip at Hofstra. The game, which will be televised on the American Sports Network, is set to tipoff at 1 p.m.
