CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECAP - DEC. 4
Delaware 64, Maryland-Eastern Shore 45
Box Score
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. -- Sophomore Vanessa Kabongo tied a career high with 17 points and freshman Jocelyn Bailey scored a season-high 14 to lead the University of Delaware women’s basketball team (3-3), who went on a 17-5 run in the first 11 minutes of the second half and coasted to a non-league victory on the road against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 64-45.
Delaware turned the ball over four times in the opening four minutes of play, and the Hens quickly found themselves down 8-2, but quickly regrouped and went on a 7-0 run, including 5-5 from the free-throw line. The Hawks and Blue Hens would trade baskets for a few minutes, but Kabongo’s layup with 7:01 left in the first half would put Delaware in the lead to stay.
According to Delaware Head Coach Tina Martin, the Hens had an awful start, but after the 30-second timeout she called, they suddenly started playing more crisp.
Having self-destructed in the final six minutes of play in their last two games, the Blue Hens were finally able to shut the door on their opponent in the second half as they outscored the Hawks 34-25.
After a three-point field goal by UMES’s Bria Jackson closed the gap to 32-23 at 18:32, Delaware went on a 15-2 run to go up 47-25 with 12:55 left in the game. Instead of letting the Hawks back in under the six minute mark, Delaware pushed its lead to 25 with 2:37 left in the game.
According to Martin, a big key to Delaware’s win was sophomore Ariene Jenkins’ rebounding. Jenkins grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.
Free-throw shooting was also a major key for Delaware, as the Blue Hens made 23-33 (69.7) from the foul line, including 10-13 in the first half. Bailey was particularly impressive at the line, making 10-12.
William & Mary 80, Howard 55
Box Score
WILLIAMSBURG - The William and Mary women's basketball team used all the parts of its game Thursday night in defeating the Bison of Howard, rolling to an 80-55 victory in Kaplan Arena. The win upped the Tribe's record to 5-2 on the season, and a perfect 3-0 at home, while Howard falls to 0-6 this winter.
As a team, the Tribe took great care of the ball in committing only eight turnovers, tied as the second-fewest in a game all-time. Sophomore Katy Oblinger (Altoona, Pa.) set a career-high in assists for the second-straight contest, dishing out 10 against zero turnovers to set a new single-game high mark for the CAA this season. Her 10 assists are tied as the sixth-highest single-game output in school history. Oblinger also finished second on the team in rebounding with a career-high seven, all coming on the defensive end.
Senior Courtney Portell (Woodbridge, Va.) finished with a team-high 13 points on two layups and three triples, moving past Jessica Muskey '00 to stand fifth all-time at W&M with 133 three-pointers made in her career. Junior Tiffany Benson (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, surpassing 500 rebounds in her career with the clean-up of a missed three-pointer by Howard six minutes into the first half.
Three other Tribe players finished in double figures in scoring, including junior Kelly Heath (Suffield, Conn.), second on the team with 12 points, and senior Dani Kell (Lutherville, Md.) with 11 points and three assists. Freshman Janine Aldridge (Massapequa, N.Y.) rounded out the bunch with 10 points on 4-6 shooting in only 11 minutes.
The two teams traded baskets early in the first half before the Tribe exploded on a 17-2 run with 16:28 left before intermission, opening a 24-9 lead over the next seven minutes. The Tribe defense kept the gap open the rest of the way, never letting the Bison get closer than 13, and that only once on a jumper just a minute into the second half.
In a nice bit of symmetry, Benson finished her double-double with 2:01 left to play on a turn-around jumper in the lane, on Oblinger's 10th assist to push the lead back up to 27. Redshirt-freshman Aleia Gland (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) got the possession started with her first career rebound off a Howard miss, and finished her first extended action with two points on a perfect 2-2 from the line, one rebound, and a steal in six minutes. For the game, the Tribe shot 44.6% with 33 made field goals, tied as the eighth-highest number of makes in program history, and finished with an assist ratio of 2.4:1.
Kent State 69, UNC Wilmington 54
Box Score
WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Senior Anna Kowalska poured in game-high 22 points as Kent State shot 48.1 percent from the floor in a 69-54 victory over UNC Wilmington in collegiate women’s basketball action Thursday at Trask Coliseum.
The Golden Flashes improved to 5-1 on the young season while the Seahawks dropped to 4-2.
Kowalska guided a Kent State attack that was 26-of-54 from the floor, 7-of-15 from three-point range and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line. Kowalska was one of three players in double figures for the Golden Flashes as Rachel Bennett chipped in 12 and Jena Stutzman added 11. Sophomore Chenel Harris corralled a game-high 10 rebounds and Bennett added eight caroms as Kent State enjoyed a 39-33 edge on the glass. Stephanie Gibson dished out a game-high seven assists.
Senior Sahsha Taylor scored a season-high 19 points for UNCW, who shot season-lows of 30.0 percent from the floor and 11.1 percent from three-point range. Junior Greta Luksyte joined Taylor in double figures with 11 while sophomore Brittany Blackwell, the team’s leading scorer at 16.8 points per game, was held to a season-low nine points. Blackwell pulled down a team-best six rebounds while Taylor and Luksyte corralled five caroms each.
Kent State opened the contest with a 7-2 run on its way to building an early 14-6 advantage. Kowalska keyed the early spurt for the Golden Flashes, scoring six points on a trio of baskets inside the paint.
UNCW pulled within seven, 22-15, midway through the frame on a basket from Luksyte when a jumper by junior Yohsica Spears started an 8-0 run that gave the Golden Flashes their biggest lead of the frame, 30-15, with 6:45 remaining.
A three-pointer by freshman Julia Finlay and a free-throw from junior Whitney Simmons pulled the Seahawks within nine, 32-23, before the Golden Flashes scored seven of the last nine points of the frame to take a 37-25 lead into the locker room.
Kent State shot 50.0 percent from the floor and connected on 50.0 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc in the first half while the Seahawks were limited to 37.5 percent from the field and 20.0 percent shooting from three-point range. The Seahawks were also plagued by foul trouble in the opening frame as their two leading scorers, Blackwell and Taylor, picked up two fouls apiece within the first 10 minutes of the game.
UNCW scored the first five points of the second half to pull within 10, 40-30, before Kent State scored nine of the next 11 points to take its biggest lead of the contest, 49-32, with less than 13 minutes remaining in the contest.
The Seahawks clawed back into the contest, out-scoring the Golden Flashes, 20-9 over an eight-minute span to make a 58-52 contest with 4:31 left to play. Luksyte paced the six UNCW players who scored during the run with six points while Taylor added four.
The Golden Flashes end the threat, scoring 11 of the final 13 points, including the last seven points of the contest to record the 15-point victory.
Longwood 52, George Mason 42
Box Score
FARMVILLE, Va. - After a back-and-forth battle that lasted for the majority of the contest, the George Mason women's basketball team was unable to counteract a Longwood scoring run late as the Lancers held off the Patriots, 52-42, on Thursday evening at Willett Hall.
Mason (0-7) was led by 10 points from senior Brittney Wilkins, while the Lancers (3-4) were led by 17 points from Brooke Long.
The contest got off to an inauspicious start, as the lone field goal in the early moments came from Broadus, putting the Patriots ahead less than 30 seconds into the game. In fact, the Lancers did not attempt a shot until 15:25, when Fletcher's three was good for a 4-2 Longwood lead.
Hobbs answered right back, sinking a trey of her own to put Mason back ahead. At the 13:28 mark, though, Long hit on a jumper to put the Lancers in front, 6-5.
As the first half progresses, the teams continued to swap leads, although points were hard to come by for both squads. The halftime score of 18-17 represented both Mason's best defensive and worst offensive performance of the year in the opening period, while also the Patriots' first halftime lead of the season.
Longwood, which connected on only five field goal attempts in the first half, had the hot hand coming out of the intermission as the Lancers took a 25-20 lead with an 8-2 run. Mason answered back with a 11-3 run of its own to take a 31-28 lead with 13:15 remaining in the game.
That lead held up until the 9:51 mark when Sims tied the game at 33, and after a Wilkins bucket, Longwood took the lead once again as Long hit a 3-pointer with 8:31 left.
With the score tied at 36, Longwood used an 8-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 44-38, an advantage which grew as large as 11 as the game came to a close, denying Mason its first win of the season.