CHARLESTON, S.C. – Tyler Collins finished a driving layup with six seconds on the clock as the College of Charleston women's basketball team rallied from behind in regulation, overtime and then double-overtime to come away with a 79-77 victory over William & Mary at TD Arena on Friday afternoon.
Charleston finished the game shooting 48% from the floor, 50% from three-point range, with four student-athlete in double-figures. Collins finished with 18 points on 8-10 shooting, matching her career high, while senior guard
Darien Huff ended with 21 points after making key three-point baskets down the stretch.
Reigning Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week
Arynn Eady grabbed a second career double-double in back-to-back games, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds,
Deja Ford finished with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists while the Tribe's ace Bianca Boggs finished with 23 points and six rebounds.
Charleston held the Tribe to 1-8 from the floor through the first period, Eady again involved at both ends of the floor by swatting away a Tribe effort with Huff grabbing the rebound and knocking down a jumper at the other end.
Huff knocked down her first three of the game in the second quarter, extending her streak to 27 games with at least one basket from beyond the arc dating back to Feb. 18, 2018.
Ford put an end to a Tribe 6-0 offensive run with a pretty move between two defenders, finishing under the basket with Charleston breaking the visitors press with a nice passing move ending with
Baileigh Larson's first basket of the game.
William & Mary opened the third period on a 7-2 run, a Ford jumper and Huff's second three of the game levelling the game back up at 33-33.
Ford followed on with her first trey of the game,
Madison Taylor getting an 'and one' and a steal and finish to give Charleston a four-point lead.
William & Mary opened the fourth on another offensive burst, Ford knocking down free throws to pull Charleston back within seven.
Huff continued to be the driving force for Charleston's offense. The senior knocked down her third three of the game, finished a tough floater in the paint and chased down Boggs to block a Tribe layup.
A drive and finish at the basket from Huff drew a foul, the senior knocking down the extra basket to level the game up at 63-63 with
Latrice Perkins' strong defense on Boggs forcing overtime.
Eady continued to roll in the extra period. The freshman grabbing her second career double-double in back-to-back games with another finish under the basket with the team exchanging baskets until the final seconds.
The Tribe knocked down a trey with 30 seconds left, Collins finding a yard of space as time expired to knock down a tough three to send the game into double overtime.
Harper Birdsong opened the period with a three for the visitors, Huff responding with her own trey to finish 4-7 from deep. William & Mary knocking down a pair from the charity stripe to set up the grandstand finish for Collins after she tied it up with a layup in the paint.
The Charleston defense forced the 21
st Tribe turnover, Collins running the point out of the timeout and finding the gap between defenders as the clock wound down to finish the layup and give Charleston a 79-77 victory; the first time Charleston have won back-to-back CAA home matchups since February 2017.
Quotable – Head Coach Candice M. Jackson
"Everybody on our team played well and did everything that we've been asking them to do... I'm so happy for my team, they played so well, I'm so proud of them... We played great defensively, we rebounded the ball, we were balanced, we were composed, my freshman grew up today, it was everything that you could possibly ask for... This is the time of the year, going into the second half of conference season, where we want to see our players thrive and excel, their eyes are opening... Darien [Huff] is solid, a four-year starter, she gets it, she's playing her heart out and playing her best right now... Our freshman are maturing, they're understanding the physicality of the game and the pace of the game."
Notables
•
Arynn Eady, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Week, grabbed a second career double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds)
•
Darien Huff scored 21 points, her third game this season with 20+ points, and second in two games.
• Huff hit at least one three-point basket for the 27
th straight game – her streak dates back to Feb. 18, 2018.
•
Tyler Collins matched her career 18 points on 8-10 shooting, knocking down a game-tying three-pointer and finishing a game-winning layup.
•
Deja Ford scored 16 – she's hit double figures in 17 of 21 games this season.
