W&M Defeats Delaware, 61-57

01/13/08 5:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG - Sophomore Kelly Heath scored a career-high 14 points to help lead the William and Mary women’s basketball team to a 61-57 victory against Delaware on Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena. With the win, W&M improves to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while the Blue Hens fall to 2-13 overall and 1-2 in league action.

In addition to posting a career night scoring, Heath also provided three steals in 24 minutes of action. Junior Courtney Portell also came up big with 14 points and sank four three-pointers. Senior Kyra Kaylor and junior Dani Kell also finished in double figures scoring with 11 points apiece.

As a team, the College held a 36-34 advantage on the boards and forced UD into 19 turnovers.

While Delaware tallied the contest’s initial basket, the Tribe responded with a 7-2 run to lead by three at the first media timeout.

The score remained close through the middle portion of the half, as the teams found themselves tied on four occasions. While the Blue Hens reclaimed their first lead since the opening bucket when Farrah Ferguson converted a layin with 10:28 showing, the Tribe answered with an 8-2 run. Kell came up big during the stretch with five points, while Portell punctuated the run with a three-pointer.

W&M equaled its biggest lead of the game, 27-22, following a layin by senior Devin James with 3:39 remaining, but Delaware fought back with a 6-0 run. However, sophomore Tiffany Benson scored the final basket of the stanza to give the Tribe a one-point lead at the intermission.

At the break, Kell led the College with seven points, while Portell and Heath each had six points apiece.

Delaware briefly retook the lead, 33-32, early in second half, but W&M broke the game open with a 13-0 run during a span of 4:39. Portell keyed the run with a pair of three-pointers.

Despite trailing by 12 points, the Blue Hens rallied back with 10 unanswered points of their own and were down by just two, 47-45, with less than eight minutes remaining. UD completed its comeback when Kyle DeHaven registered a steal and layin with 2:01 remaining to give Delaware a 54-53 lead.

W&M countered with a 6-0 run, though, as Kaylor tallied four crucial points and Heath made a layin.

A three-pointer by UD’s Tesia Harris with 30 seconds remaining cut the lead to two, 59-57, but Portell sealed the game with a pair of free throws.

The Tribe will return to action when it plays at Georgia State on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Box Score