WILLIAMSBURG, VA. – The College of Charleston women's basketball team (5-15, 1-8) got off to a great start and played an excellent first half against William & Mary (13-6, 4-4) on Friday night, but second half scoring struggles prevented the Cougars from overcoming the Tribe in a 79-66 defeat.
• The Cougars surrendered a 7-0 run to start the game, but recovered nicely to shrink the deficit to two by the end of the first. From there, they outscored the Tribe 23-15 in the second to take a 41-35 lead out of the half. CofC shot 50% (17 of 34) as a team in that half.
•
Cailin Dorsey gave the Cougars the edge from long range, going 4 of 5 from deep in the opening half, and wound up establishing a career-high in scoring (17 Pts) for her third consecutive game.
Tanisha Brown had a double-double at the break, and finished the game with 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, which tied her for the fifth-most single-game rebounds in the CofC Division I Era.
• William & Mary turned things around in the second half, outscoring CofC 44-25 in the second stanza. The Tribe registered three double-doubles, led by Abby-Rendle's 12-9 with a whopping 11 blocks, which tied a CAA record. Bianca Boggs didn't have one, but had the most impressive stat-line of the game with a 26-7-6 with seven steals and two blocks.
•
Darien Huff returned to the starting lineup for the first time after four games, and recorded a career-best six assists in 36 minutes of play. For the vast majority of the contest, the Cougars implemented a six-player rotation featuring Huff, Dorsey,
Deja Ford (11 Pts),
Bri Sullivan (14 Pts) and both Shiclasia and
Tanisha Brown. All six players registered at least one steal in the game, with Sullivan matching a career-high with three.
• With the loss, the Cougars from to 1-8 in conference play, and they remain in ninth-place in the conference ahead of UNCW. William & Mary advance to 4-4, tying them with Elon for fifth place in the CAA.
The Cougars remain on the road for a Sunday encounter with James Madison at 2 p.m.
