WILLIAMSBURG, VA - The William and Mary women's basketball team begins a three-game homestand Thursday night at 7:00 pm against Delaware at William and Mary Hall.

Complete Release (PDF)
Listen Live


THE COACHES
Debbie Taylor is in her sixth season at the helm of the Tribe women's basketball team, and sports a career record of 51-113. Prior to joining the Tribe, Taylor was an assistant coach at South Carolina for three seasons.

Delaware is led by Tina Martin who is in her ninth full season. Brooks brings a career record of 161-93 into today's contest.

SERIES HISTORY
The Blue Hens lead the all-time series 7-2, with Delaware taking the two teams' matchup last month, 67-40, in Newark. The Tribe swept the Hens last season, winning 68-56 in Williamsburg, and 55-48 at Newark.

IT HASN'T BEEN LONG
Tonight's game is the second half of the two teams' home-and-home series this season. In 2005, only 21 days separate each game. For the Tribe, this is the shortest amount of time between games against the same team this season.

WHO TO WATCH
Sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven. DeHaven leads the CAA in steals and assists, averaging 4.55 and 3.68 per game respectively. Her steals total is 7th in the latest NCAA statistics. In addition to the assists and steals, she leads the team with a 11.3 points per game average, and is second in rebounding, averaging 5.5 per game. She has reached double figures in points in nine of her last 12 games, in which she is averaging 13.3 points. In the win over VCU, she led all scorers with 21 points, with 18 of those coming in the second half and 10 in the final 1:48. She also led the team with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. She scored 17 points in the loss at Old Dominion and again in the loss to Drexel. She scored just seven points in the loss to Delaware, but grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds. DeHaven nearly earned her first career triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in last Sunday's loss at Hofstra. This past weekend, she recorded 21 points, tying her season-high.

BUT KEEP AN EYE ON...
Junior guard Lizzie Schiel. Schiel broke out against Hofstra with a career-high 21 points, including six three-pointers, which is tied for second-most in Tribe history. She is currently tied for second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.6 points per game. Schiel's three-point field goal percentage of .398 is second in the CAA, and she is 15th in assists with 2.35 per game. Her shooting percentage of .416 leads the team.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Tribe, after playing just two of its last six games at William and Mary Hall, is in the midst of a streak that will see them play three of its final five contests in Williamsburg. Today's game marks the beginning of the final homestand of the year, as the Tribe closes out the home schedule against Delaware, Old Dominion, and Virginia Commonwealth. The Tribe possesses a 2-7 record at The Hall.

TAKING CONTROL OF THE BALL
Over the past five games, William and Mary has forced a total of 122 turnovers, an average of 24.4 per game, while only yielding 79, an average of 15.8 per game. The Tribe is ranked first in the CAA and 36th in the NCAA with 11.14 steals per game.

MORE TURNOVERS
The Tribe forced 33 turnovers in the loss to James Madison, which tied the school record for most in a game by an opponent. W&M forced 19 Dukes turnovers in the first half, and finished with 33, a total that tied the record held by Winthrop, which recorded 33 miscues on November 13, 1998.

DeHAVEN ON TRACK TO STEAL
Sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven broke a 24-year old school record last season when she recorded 97 steals, a mark that led the CAA. This season, she is on pace to break that record. Through 22 games last season, DeHaven totaled 71 steals, and through 22 games this season, she has 81.

DeHAVEN CLIMBS CAREER CHARTS
In only 51 games, sophomore Kyle DeHaven has re-written the Tribe record book, starting with her school record 97 steals last season as a freshman. For her career, DeHaven has 237 assists, which is already the sixth-highest total in school history. The record is 503, set by Jen Sobota. In addition, with 178 steals, DeHaven holds sixth place in the Tribe record books, ahead of head coach Debbie Taylor's mark by one.

SCHIEL WORKING HER WAY INTO THREE-POINT RECORDS, AGAIN
Junior Lizzie Schiel has come on strong as the season has progressed and has a chance to make her mark among all-time Tribe shooters. Her season total of 35 three-pointers is tied for sixteenth all-time, tied with Julie Sommer and only six short of Schiel's own mark of 41, which sits in ninth place. Yolanda Settles holds the top rank with 63 three-pointers in the 1993-94 season.

IRON WOMAN
Sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven has logged 718 minutes in 22 games this season, with the next closest player, Devin James, recoring only 623. DeHaven is averaging 32.6 minutes this season, and in 13 CAA games, is averaging 35.5 minutes per game. In the Tribe's overtime loss at UNC Wilmington, DeHaven logged a career-high 41 minutes. In the last five games, DeHaven has logged 187 minutes, an average of 37.4 per game. She has recorded at least 35 minutes of action 11 times this season.

UNSELFISH BASKETBALL
Of the Tribe's 444 field goals this season, 280 of those have been assisted (63%). William and Mary is currently ranked sixth in the CAA with an average of 12.73 assists per game.

FREE BASKETBALL
The Tribe played its first overtime game of the season in the loss to UNC Wilmington Thursday, and its first since December 7, 2004, a loss to Vermont. Overtime has not been kind to the Tribe, as its last overtime win came on February 15, 1992, an 83-80 win over Radford. The Tribe has lost its last 12 overtime games.

FREE THROW DISPARITY
The Tribe has ATTEMPTED 388 free throws this season, and its opponents have MADE 417. W&M is 255-388 from the line, while its 22 opponents are 417-597 (70%). In 13 conference games, the Tribe's opponents have made 276 free throws while the Tribe has attempted 232.

GIVING CHARITY
The Tribe has allowed 334 free throw attempts in the last 11 games, and they have converted 244 of those 334 attempts (73%). Conversely, W&M has attempted just 188 free throws in those games, and have made 135 (72%).

COMEBACK ALMOST GETS WIN
The Tribe faced a halftime deficit of 10 points in its loss to Towson on Sunday, at 32-22, but W&M showed its character in the second half. The Tribe opened the second half with a blistering offense, as it outscored Towson 22-6 in the first 10:44 to take open up a six-point lead at 44-38 with 9:16 left. The run featured a cold shooting hand by Towson, as Kelli Talbot sank a layup with 18:04 left, but would not score again until the 11:12 mark when Tierra Jackson converted a free throw, and did not get another field goal until a three-pointer by Brandi Harris with 8:58 left.
GUARDING THE ARC AT ODU
In the loss to Old Dominion, the Tribe did not allow a single three-point basket, as the Lady Monarchs finished the game 0-6 from downtown. It was the first time since January 9, 2004, a 68-56 home win over Delaware, that W&M did not allow a three-point field goal.

CARTER BREAKS OUT AT VCU
Freshman guard Mindy Carter earned her first career start in the win at VCU on Sunday, and she did not disappoint. Carter played a career-high 33 minutes while scoring 10 points, another career high. Her previous career-best of her career. After not scoring in the first 11 games, she now has 19 points in her last three contests. She is averaging 1.2 points and 0.8 rebounds per game this season.

ROAD STREAK SNAPPED AT VCU
The Tribe's win at VCU was the Tribe's first conference road win since February 8, 2004, a 55-48 win at Delaware, a game that was regionally televised. The win snapped a five-game road conference losing streak, and it was the first Tribe win in Richmond since February, 1999.

DEFENSE SHINES IN VCU WIN
The Tribe may be last in the CAA in scoring defense, but it did not play like it in the win over VCU. The Tribe held the Rams to just five first half field goals on 21 attempts (23.8%) and to just 15 for the game on 50 attempts (30%). In addition, the Tribe forced 29 Rams turnovers while finishing with 13 steals, four by DeHaven.

FOR LONG DISTANCE, DIAL 53
Junior forward Maria Sazonova attempted 243 field goals in her career prior to the George Mason game, and all of those had come inside the three-point line. On the 251st field goal attempt in her career, at the 15:58 mark of the second half, Sazonova drained her first career three-point field goal, on her first career attempt. Sazonova gathered an offensive rebound and buried an uncontested jumper from the right corner to give her seven points, and she finished with nine on the day.

SAZONOVA TIES CAREER HIGH
Sazonova enjoyed one of the finest offensive days in her career in the loss to Hofstra. The 6-3 forward from Wayne, PA matched her career-high by scoring 18 points and set career-highs in field goals (8) and field goal attempts (18). She also pulled down eight rebounds and collected three steals in 31 minutes. For the year, she is averaging 6.3 points per game and 9.8 in her last four contests.

OFFENSE COMES ALIVE IN SECOND
The Tribe offense had its best half of the year in the second half in the loss to George Mason. After trailing by 26 early in the second half, W&M closed the lead to as few as five with four minutes left as the Tribe outscored the Patriots 47-41 in the stanza after trailing 40-22 at the break. The Tribe shot a season-high 56.3% (18-32) from the floor and 57.1% (4-7) from three-point range in the half. Freshman guard Devin James scored all of her team-high 14 points in the second half, and sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven scored 11 of her 13 points in the half. For the game, the Tribe shot 47.4%, one tenth a point fewer than its season high of 47.5% against Indiana State on December 18th.

KEEPING THEM UNDER 50
The Tribe defense was the main story in the win over UNC Wilmington. W&M allowed just 48 points, the first time since February 8, 2004 in a 55-48 win at Delaware that the College held its opponent under 50 points in a game. W&M recorded 13 steals, nine by Kyle DeHaven, and forced 25 turnovers, while only recording 17. DeHaven had a career-low two turnovers.

JAMES CRASHES THE BOARDS
Freshman guard Devin James enjoyed one of the finest rebounding game of her young career when she pulled down a then-career-best 11 rebounds in the win over UNC Wilmington. Five of her 11 rebounds came on the offensive glass, which led all players.



JAMES CLICKS FOR 22
Freshman guard Devin James became the first Tribe player to score at least 20 points in a game this season when she finished with 22 in the win over Hampton. James shot 8-12 from the floor, including 2-3 from three-point range. She also grabbed six rebounds and tallied a career-best seven steals in the win.

WRAPPING UP THE NON CONFERENCE
The Tribe went 2-7 in its non-conference schedule, with both of the Tribe's wins coming against local rivals from the MEAC, Norfolk State and Hampton. The Tribe won at Norfolk State and defeated Hampton at home. W&M shot just 35% from the floor (178-504) in those nine games, while its opponents shot 46% (228-489).


SCHIEL NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Junior guard Lizzie Schiel was named to the Image Depot Shootout All-Tournament team after posting 19 points and pulling down seven rebounds in the two games. She opened the tournament with a 12 point night on 4-6 shooting from the floor, including a 4-5 performance from three-point range. She added seven points the next night in the loss to South Florida. After initially deciding to sit out the entire season for personal reasons, she reconsidered after a four-game absence. Schiel has been cleared by the medical staff and began practice after the team returned from San Francisco. She saw her first action of the year in the loss to James Madison. In 20 minutes, she grabbed three rebounds and collected two assists and two steals.


FIVE REACH DOUBLE FIGURES
The Tribe enjoyed its finest offensive game of the season (statistically speaking) in the loss to Indiana State. The Tribe had five players reach double figures, led by sophomore guard Katy Neumer's career-high 16. Jalen Boone and Kyle DeHaven both added 15, Lizzie Schiel clicked for 12 and Devin James finished with 10 as the College shot 47.5% (28-59) from the field. The trio of Boone, Schiel and Neumer combined to shoot 17-25 (68%) in the game.

NON-CONFERENCE ROAD WOES GONE
The Tribe snapped its seven-game non-conference road game (excluding neutral sites) losing streak with the win over Norfolk State Wednesday night. Coincidentally, the previous road win prior to Wednesday night's was also at Norfolk State, coming on December 4, 2001.

KAYLOR,BUTTS DONE FOR THE YEAR
Sophomore guard Kyra Kaylor and senior guard Kia Butts have both decided to sit out the rest of the season due to injuries. A third-team All-CAA and CAA All-Rookie team selection a year ago, Kaylor saw action in four games and started three. She averaged 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Butts was a CAA All-Rookie team selection in 2002 and sat out all of last season with a foot injury. She tried to play through the pain this season, but after four games decided to not play.

JAMES DOUBLES HER PLEASURE
Freshman guard Devin James recorded her first career double double in the Tribe's loss to UC Riverside, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes. Last season, Kyle DeHaven recorded one double double and Kyra Kaylor finished with five as freshmen, making James the seventh Tribe freshman in a row to record a double double. Two years ago, as a freshman, Maria Sazonova recorded the last double double of hte 2002-03 season. The last non freshman to record a double double was by Colleen McCaffrey, who recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds in the 2002-03 season opener, a 66-40 home win over Elon on November 23, 2002.

THREE-POINT STREAKS
In the season-opening loss at American Sunday, the Tribe was 0-12 from three-point range, the first time since Feburary 15th, 2004, a loss at George Mason, that the Tribe did not make a three-point basket. Conversely, the Eagles were 5-5 from beyond the arc, the first time in 81 games that a W&M opponent was perfect from three-point range. Prior to Sunday, Iona was 2-2 from downtown on December 2, 2001, a 65-47 William and Mary win.

BELTWAY BLUES CONTINUE
The Tribe's 78-59 loss at American was its 15th defeat in 19 tries at Bender Arena. W&M is just 4-15 in games played at Bender Arena, and is 1-3 at Bender under Taylor, with the last win coming in 2001, a 77-57 win.


DeHAVEN LEADS TRIBE AGAIN
For the second year in a row, sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven was the Tribe's highest scorer in the season opener. In her first collegiate game last season against Old Dominion, DeHaven scored 20 points to lead the Tribe and she repeated the feat yesterday in the season opener, leading W&M with 14 points, 12 of those coming in the second half.


JAMES, BOONE IMPRESSIVE IN DEBUT
Freshmen Jalen Boone and Devin James enjoyed solid beginnings to their collegiate careers on Sunday. James scored 12 points grabbed six rebounds, gathered a steal, assist and a blocked shot in just 28 minutes. Boone, who sat out last season after an injury, totaled seven points, three rebounds two steals and a blocked shot in 19 minutes.

DISHING AND TAKING
Sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven topped the CAA in both assists (4.7 apg) and steals (3.3) last season. Her 3.3 steals per game ranked 10th nationally and were the most by any freshman last season.

DeHAVEN NAMED ALL-DEFENSIVE
Sophomore guard Kyle DeHaven was just the second freshman in Colonial Athletic Association history to be named to the All-Defensive team, joining Old Dominion's Mery Andrade, who was named in 1996. DeHaven averaged over three steals per game, and finished the season ranked 10th in the country in steals per game, a feat that led all freshman nationally.

COMEBACK DELAYED
Junior guard Tiara Cruse is eligible to play this season after sitting out as a transfer from Southern Methodist. However, Cruse injured her knee just eight minutes into the Tribe's win over the Lady Ballers and is out the season. Considered a scorer by coach Debbie Taylor, Cruse averaged 1.9 points per game in her two seasons for the Lady Mustangs.

DeHAVEN, KAYLOR EARN HONORS
Sophomore guard Kyra Kaylor and Kyle DeHaven were honored at the annual CAA Media Day when both were named to the All-CAA preseason second team. DeHaven led the league in steals and assists, and Kaylor led the team in scoring and rebounds. Both were named to the CAA All-Rookie team.

BOONE READY AFTER INJURY
Freshman forward Jalen Boone is making her collegiate debut this year after sitting out all of last season with a leg injury. Considered one of the top post player prospects in the east two season's ago, Boone scored six points and grabbed four rebounds (three offensive) in the exhibition win over the Lady Ballers.

YOUTH IS SERVED
11 players on the Tribe's 15-player roster are freshmen and sophomores. Lindsey Brizendine and Kia Butts are the only two seniors and the junior class consists of Maria Sazonova and Tiara Cruse.

IDENTITY CRISIS
Sophomore Sarah McNeil and freshmen Mindy Carter both could suffer from an identity crisis this season, as both players wear different jersey numbers for home and away games. McNeil sports #31 when the Tribe wears the home gold uniforms and #3 when wearing the road green. Carter wears #34 in the home golds and #35 in the road green.

SCHEDULE RANKED IN TOP HALF
The 2004-05 William and Mary women's basketball schedule is ranked 112th out of the 328 Division I women's basketball teams in the country according to the WBCA/Summerville RPI strength of schedule report. The Tribe's schedule is the fifth-highest in the league, behind Old Dominion (#77), George Mason (#92), Hofstra (#98) and Virginia Commonwealth (#102). The Tribe's non-conference strength of schedule is ranked 160th and is also the fifth-highest in the league.

TRIBE PICKED SIXTH
The William and Mary women's basketballt eam was picked to finish sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association in a vote of media members at the league's annual media day at the Richmond Coliseum. The Tribe received 87 points, one ahead of George Mason. 13-time defending CAA champion Old Dominion was the overwhelming favorite to capture the league crown.

TRI-CAPTAINS NAMED
Seniors Kia Butts and Lindsey Brizendine and junior Tiara Cruse were named the team captains prior to the season in a vote by their teammates.


SPANNING THE CONTINENT...
The Tribe roster features a different mix of states, as the 15 player roster is made up of six different states and one foreign country. Tribe players hail from Virginia, New York, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. Sarah Stroh, the first ever Tribe player to hail from Canada, calls British Columbia home.

... BUT SOME ARE FROM HERE
The Tribe has five native Virginians on its roster, as Tiara Cruse (Vienna), Kyle DeHaven (Herndon), Lindsey Brizendine (West Point), Kia Butts (Virginia Beach) and Jalen Boone (Herndon) all hail from the Commonwealth.

YES, THIS IS A WOMEN'S TEAM
The Tribe roster features an eclectic group of young women, but if one didn't know any better, they might think it is a men's team. Two members of the team are named Kyle and Dani. Kyle DeHaven was given the name Kyle by her mother because she wanted something besides a traditional name for a girl, and Dani Kell's full name is Danielle.

FRANCAIS
Junior forward Maria Sazonova is fluent in three languages, French, her native Russian and English. Sophomore guard Sarah Stroh is also fluent in French, and after an encounter at the team's San Francisco hotel with a French resident who's English was not up to standard, Sazonova recognized the accent and began speaking French with him. Stroh was seated nearby and joined the conversation. Both players say they are a little rusty with the language, so they are communicating with each other on and off the court exclusively in French.

COACHING STAFF EXPERIENCED
William and Mary has two coaches on its staff with head coaching experience. Head Coach Debbie Taylor is in her sixth season at Willam and Mary, and assistant coach Candace Crabtree served as head coach at Drexel University for four seasons and at Rowan University for eight years prior to her Drexel appointment. Assistant coach Waynetta Veney, who served as an assistant coach at American for one season, is in her fifth year as an assistant coach at the collegiate level.

TRIBE SIGNS THREE FOR 05-06
William and Mary has signed three talented student athletes to a National Letter of Intent, and they will begin their careers next season. The three players are Lauren Aadland, a guard from Carlsbad, California; Julianne Thomas-Drolet, a 6-2 forward from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; and Katie Tausanovitch, a 6-3 forward from Hanover, NH.

CAA ADDS TWO FOR 05-06
The Colonial Athletic Association will become a 12-team league next season, as Georgia State and Northeastern will leave the Atlantic Sun and America East conferences, respectively. The expansion will give the CAA a geographic footprint that extends from Boston to Atlanta, giving the league a presence in six of the top nine media markets (#1 New York, #4 Philadelphia, #6 Boston, #8 Washington, DC and #9 Atlanta). Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra and Towson all left the America East to become members of the CAA for the 2001-02 campaign.


TRIBE HOSTS 12 GAMES THIS YEAR
William and Mary will play 12 home games at William and Mary Hall this season, beginning with a game against Longwood. The Tribe will also host non-conference foes Liberty and Hampton in addition to the nine-game CAA schedule.

GLOBE HOPPING
For the fifth consecutive year, the Tribe will be spending Thanksgiving in a far away locale. This year, W&M was in San Francisco, CA to play in the odwalla/adidas classic, hosted by the University of San Francisco. In previous seasons, W&M has spent Thanksgiving in Hanover, NH; Boulder, CO; Malibu, CA; Albuquerque, NM and Newport, RI. In addition to the San Francisco trip, the College played in a pre-Christmas tournament in Tampa, FL.

UP NEXT
W&M hosts Old Dominion Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.