College of Charleston
9-16; 4-10
William & Mary (Play4Kay Game)
14-12; 5-10
Women?s Hoops Halted by Tribe in 66-40 Defeat
2/21/2016 9:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's basketball team (9-16; 4-10) went down early and never quite managed to recapture the momentum Sunday, as the William & Mary Tribe (14-12; 5-10 vs. CAA) were able to prevail 66-40.
The Cougars implemented an unorthodox starting lineup that included Bri Sullivan making the first start of her career and Shiclasia Brown drawing her first start since last season. The two joined Darien Huff, Breanna Bolden and Jackie Luna-Castro as the game started.
Sullivan scored the first two buckets for the Cougars en route to a career-best eight point outing, but that was the lone bright spot for CofC to start, as William & Mary ripped off an 18-4 run to begin the game.
Bolden went berserk in the passing lanes to close out the first quarter, pawing away three steals and converting them for two layups in the span of just over 30 seconds. The junior would finish with a team-high 17 points and five rebounds, and matched a career-high seven steals on the afternoon.
After the poor start to the game, the Cougars rallied to make a bit of a comeback in the second quarter, getting the game as close as 25-18 with two minutes to play in the half. But W&M's Ali Engelhardt scored four points in the closing minutes to push the lead to 29-19 at half, and the Cougars would never again mount a counter-offensive.
Beyond Bolden's impressive steal figure, the one key area where the Cougars performed admirably was their ability to force their way to the free throw line, earning 20 attempts by forcing the Tribe into 15 fouls. However, W&M shot a commanding 52.9% from the field and won the rebounding battle 36-24. What's more, the College missed on all 13 of their three-point attempts, and had only four assists to William & Mary's 21. Individually, Alexandra Masaquel led the way for W&M with a 18-10 double-double.
As a result of the game, the Cougars and Tribe swap places in the standings, with W&M rising to seventh and the College falling to eighth. The Cougars will follow up with a road trip next weekend, which will kick off with a Friday night showdown with the Northeastern Huskies (12-14; 7-8 vs. CAA).
