WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Despite its best offensive display of the season, the William & Mary women's basketball team surrendered nine unanswered points in the final 2:15 seconds to drop a 75-71 heartbreaker to Northeastern on Thursday evening. The Tribe (13-15, 6-11 CAA) finished with a school-record 64-percent from the field in the setback against the Huskies (18-10, 8-9 CAA).
 
The Tribe held a five-point advantage, 71-66, at the 2:43 mark before the Huskies went on its run to complete the comeback. Alexis Hill made a layup, before Kendall Currence and Ayanna Dublin combined for five points to take the lead, 72-71. Northeastern made three more free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
 
W&M caught fire again in the third quarter with a layup each from Senior Bianca Boggs and sophomore Gabby Rogers in the first minute. Birdsong nailed a three-pointer, before a Rogers layup for a 47-37 lead at the 5:43 mark. Despite four-straight points from the Huskies' Shannon Todd, the Green and Gold still held a 59-48 lead at the end of the quarter.
 
In the first quarter, W&M sprinted out of the gates with a 17-4 run to take a double-digit lead in the opening period. W&M sandwiched seven-consecutive points between a Huskies jumper for a 17-6 advantage at the 5:17 mark. Boggs made the fourth 3-pointer of the frame to push the Tribe to a 20-8 lead with 4:24 remaining. In the final seconds of the period, redshirt sophomore Harper Birdsong splashed the sixth W&M triple for a 26-15 lead after 10 minutes.
 
Nonetheless, the Huskies answered with eight unanswered points to start the second quarter. With 2:13 left to go, Boggs knocked down a pair of free throws for a tight 30-28 W&M lead. NU tied it at 30-all behind two free throws before senior Misha Jones broke with a jumper. However, NU split free throws to trail the Tribe by one point, 32-31 at halftime.
 
W&M Starters - #2 Boggs, #10 Hodgson, #11 Pollard, #25 Rogers, #30 Reynolds
 
Northeastern Starters – #12 Dublin, #13 May, #14 Todd, #20 Genco, #24 Giancone
 
Individual Highlights
Senior Bianca Boggs scored a game-high 17 points and was 5-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the line to lead four Tribe players in double-figures. She added five rebounds, seven assists, and a steal. Junior Victoria Reynolds finished with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocked shots. Redshirt sophomore Harper Birdsong had 11 points off of the bench to go with two rebounds, while sophomore Gabby Rogers added 10 points and two assists.
 
Three Huskies – Shannon Todd, Jess Genco, and Kendall Currence each scored 14 points for the Huskies. Genco added two boards, and five assists, while Todd had six helpers, and Currence had four rebounds and five steals. Ayanna Dublin finished with 12 points, six rebounds, one assist, three steals.   
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot a school-record 64.3-percent (27-of-42) from the floor. The Tribe was also 10-of-20 (50-percent) from 3-point range and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
 
- W&M committed a season-high 27 turnovers in the setback.
 
- The Green and Gold held a 23-21 advantage on the glass but did surrender 10 offensive rebounds to Northeastern.
 
- Northeastern only led for a 1:17 seconds of game action, while the Tribe had an advantage for 36:56.
 
Notes
The Tribe shot a school-record 64.3-percent (27-for-42) from the field … Senior Bianca Boggs was in double-figures for the 24th time this year and the 66th time in her W&M career … She is 22 points away from becoming the second player in school history to score over 500 points in a single season, and is 45 points away from breaking the single-season school record … She also eclipsed the 1,400-point mark and now has 1,403 points in her Tribe career … Junior Victoria Reynolds has scored in double-figures in 17 games this season and 37 times in her career … Sophomore Gabby Rogers had her fourth double-figure game this year … Redshirt sophomore Harper Birdsong had double-figures for the 15th time this year.
 
What's Ahead
W&M closes the regular season as it plays hosts to Hofstra on Saturday, March 9 at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe will honor its three seniors – Bianca Boggs, Misha Jones, and Chandler Smith – with a pregame ceremony, and tip-off is set for 2 p.m.