CHARLESTON, S.C. – William and Mary (11-2, 1-1) came into TD Arena looking to extend its winning streak to 12 games Friday, but the College of Charleston women's basketball team (4-9, 1-1) had other plans as the Cougars bounced back from a rough first quarter to hand the Tribe their first loss since their season opener.
• The Cougars started slow out the gates, allowing the Tribe to push the lead as high as ten points before the end of the first quarter. But the Cougars fought back in the second in a big way, outscoring the Tribe 24-12 in the frame.
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Breanna Bolden was the catalyst for the CofC comeback, leading all players with 18 points at half while adding four boards and three steals. The senior guard finished with a monster double-double which included 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting and a career-high 15 rebounds, chipping in two blocks for good measure.
• The Cougars outscored the Tribe by three in the third frame, and did a good job closing the door on any possible comeback hopes of William & Mary by pushing the lead to a game-high 14 points with six minutes to play in the game.
Brianna Boyd's five straight points over the course of a two and a half minute span saw to that, as the redshirt junior finished with 13 points, eight boards, and a career-high four blocks.
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Tanisha Brown finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, chipping in a block and a steal.
Darien Huff was the other Cougar in double-digits with 13 points, and contributed a dagger-three with four minutes to go in regulation to end a mini-W&M run.
• The Cougars won the night by earning 23 more opportunities from the free throw line than their counterparts, going 15 of 27 from the stripe. They also won the rebounding battle, pulling down a season-high 48 to the Tribe's 36. On an individual level, W&M's Alexandra Masaquel had an outstanding game in defeat, scoring 24 points on 12 of 21 shooting to go with her game-high 17 boards.
"I saw a tremendous effort from start to finish, and even though we didn't have the best start, we made good defensive adjustments through the rest of the game," head coach Candice M. Jackson said. "Everybody who played contributed in some form or fashion, and it was an all-around good team effort."
The Cougars will look for a repeat performance this Sunday at 2 p.m., when they continue their 3-game home-stand and host UNCW (5-8, 0-2).
