WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sophomore
Bianca Boggs registered her second career double-double with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds as the William & Mary women's basketball team picked up a season-opening 83-71 victory at Howard on Saturday night. Three Tribe players finished in double figures as W&M improves to 1-0, while the Bison fall to 0-1.
With the game tied at 9-9, the Tribe closed the first quarter on a 19-3 run to take a 28-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. Boggs scored five straight points, before freshman
Nyla Pollard knocked down a jumper. After Howard completed a traditional 3-point play, Boggs restarted the run with four straight points, before junior
Misha Jones, who played her first game back in more than a year from injury, had three points in a row, freshman
Gabby Rogers hit a lay-up, and classmate
Libby Underwood hit a free throw to end the quarter.
The Tribe then used a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter to build its largest lead of the game. Boggs canned a triple, before Green and sophomore
Victoria Reynolds each hit free throws. Reynolds added two more from the line to make it 40-16 with 5:46 to go in the half.
Howard made a late run in the fourth quarter cutting the Tribe lead back to single digits. Trailing 67-50, Howard went on a 10-3 run that cut the lead to 10. Tariah Johnson sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around an Imani Bryant lay-up. After a Reynolds jumper, Bryant connected on a jumper, before Reynolds answered by spliting a pair of free throws. Curstyn Moore hit a jumper to cut the lead to 70-60. The Bison eventually cut it to nine, but W&M went on a 9-0 run to restore the lead and hang on for the 83-71 victory.
W&M Starters - #2 Boggs, #11 Pollard, #12 Green, #24 Rendle #30 Reynolds
Howard Starters - #4 Williams, #5 Edmond, #10 Dopson, #12 Moore, #20 Myles
Individual Leaders
Junior
Bianca Boggs notched a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds, which were both career-highs leading three Tribe players in double-figures. Sophomore
Victoria Reynolds had a career-high 19 points and a career-high tying six rebounds, while senior
Jenna Green had 15 points, four assists, and three rebounds.
Curstyn Moore led three Bison in double-figures with 20 points. She added six boards in 30 minutes of play. Sarah Edmond (16 points), and Imani Bryant (10 points) were also in double-figures.
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, shooting 11-of-19 (57.9-percent) in the first quarter. W&M finished the contest shooting 44.6-percent (25-of-56) from the field.
- W&M forced Howard into 31 turnovers in the game, while only committing 15 of its own.
- The Tribe grabbed 10 steals, led by four thefts by junior
Bianca Boggs.
- The Green and Gold also connected on six triples, led by a career-high three makes from Boggs.
- Howard held 42-34 advantage on the glass in the game.
Notes
Freshman
Nyla Pollard and sophomore
Victoria Reynolds earned their first career starts in the game … All four freshmen that were dressed for the game –
Bailey Eichner, Pollard,
Gabby Rogers, and
Libby Underwood made their collegiate debuts and scored their first points for the Green and Gold … Junior
Bianca Boggs recorded her 18th career double-digit game, and second career double-double … Senior
Jenna Green had her 13th career double-figure contest, scoring 15 points … Sophomore
Victoria Reynolds had her fifth career double-figure game with a career-high 19 … The sophomore added a career-high with six rebounds … In her first game, freshman
Gabby Rogers added nine points and four boards off of the bench ... W&M posted its 25th road win since the 2014-15 season in the contest … The Tribe is 1-0 for the third time in the last four years, and is now 3-2 all-time in season openers under head coach
Ed Swanson …. W&M has not lost a game in the last five years when they have scored 70, or more, points posting a 12-0 record … The Tribe now leads the all-time series with Howard 6-3 and is 2-1 in Burr Gymnasium.
What's Ahead
William & Mary returns home for its home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 14 when it welcomes Fairfield to Kaplan Arena. Tipoff between the Tribe and the Stags is set for 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game for FREE and HD on TribeAthletics.com via Stretch the Internet.
