WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's basketball team used an explosive first quarter run to erase an early deficit and held off CAA rival UNCW for a 70-64 victory on Friday evening at Kaplan Arena.
Trailing 12-2 in the opening the frame, W&M (9-5, 2-1 CAA) went on a 17-0 blitz in the final 5:30 of the period to climb out of the 10-point hole. Sophomore
Nyla Pollard sparked the run with a fast break 3-pointer, before senior
Bianca Boggs poured in six-consecutive points. Senior
Misha Jones put W&M on top with back-to-back triples, followed by a pair of Boggs free throws for a 19-12 lead.
After threatening in the second quarter, the Seahawks (8-5, 1-1 CAA) made a game-tying basket, 35-35, with 6:52 left in the third period. However, back-to-back layups by junior
Victoria Reynolds and a Boggs 3-pointer made up 7-2 run for a 42-37 margin with 4:41 to go. W&M led by only three points, before Boggs scored four in a row to send the Tribe into the fourth period with a 52-45 lead.
The Green and Gold carried its momentum into the final frame scoring five quick points for a double-digit advantage. Rookie
Eva Hodgson splashed a triple, before Boggs made a layup to lift W&M to a 57-45 lead. At the 2:53 mark, the Tribe took a 68-55 advantage behind a Reynolds fast break layup.
W&M Starters - #2 Boggs, #10 Hodgson, #11 Pollard, #15 Krause, #30 Reynolds
UNCW Starters - #4 Parker, #5 Smith, #10 Vason, #13 Suggs, #24 Bell
Individual Leaders
Senior
Bianca Boggs led the way with a game-high 25 points and added six rebounds. Junior
Victoria Reynolds also reached double-figures with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore
Nyla Pollard senior
Misha Jones each had nine points in the win. Pollard added seven rebounds and six assists.
UNCW saw three players score double-digit points. Shrita Parker paced the Seahawks with 20 points, while grabbing seven rebounds. Lacey Suggs enjoyed a 17-point effort and also notched seven rebounds. Chinyere Bell provided 14 more points after missing just one field goal (5-for-6).
Inside the Numbers
- Both team shot below 40-percent from the floor, but W&M finished 34-percent from beyond the arc.
- The Tribe made 82-percent of its free throws, while the Seahawks managed to knock down 69-percent.
- UNCW claimed the rebounding battle 43-33 and scored 17 second chance points.
-W&M excelled in protecting the rim after out blocking UNCW 9-1
Notes
The Green and Gold has won five-consecutive home games after dropping the season-opener to VCU (Nov. 6) … Senior
Bianca Boggs scored more than 20 points for the fourth straight game, which is the second longest streak in school history and is one off of Kyra Kaylor's five game streak in 2006 … Boggs has been in double-figures in 12 games this season and 54 times in her career, and now has six 20-point games this year and 13 for her career … The senior now has 1,170 career points and is in 13th in school history … She needs 47 more points to pass Julie Sommer Leach '99 for 12
th all-time … Junior
Victoria Reynolds was in double-figures for the ninth time this season and 28th time in her career … Senior
Misha Jones matched a career-high with nine points in the game … W&M now leads its series with UNCW 36-33, including a 22-12 lead at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe has now won 43 games under head coach
Ed Swanson when scoring at least 70 points.
What's Ahead
The Tribe plays the middle game of its three-game homestand on Sunday, Jan. 13 when it plays hosts to College of Charleston. Tip off between the Tribe and Cougars from Kaplan Arena is set for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed in HD and for free on TribeAthletics.TV.
