Tribe Wins at UNCW, 56-38

Kaylor and Benson record double-doubles

02/11/07 9:00PM

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The William and Mary women’s basketball team earned a 56-38 victory at UNC Wilmington on Sunday afternoon. It was the College’s second triumph versus the Seahawks this season, as it defeated them, 60-50, on Jan. 11 in Williamsburg. With the win, the Tribe improves its record to 15-9 overall, equaling last season’s victory total, and 7-6 in CAA play. The Seahawks fall to 7-16 overall and 3-9 in conference action.

As a team, the College held UNCW to just 27.8 percent shooting and dominated the glass, 44-32. Additionally, the win marked the ninth time this season that the Green and Gold have limited the opposition to 50 points or less.

Individually, junior Devin James led the Tribe with a game-high 17 points, 14 of which came during the second half. Junior Kyra Kaylor recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, as she moved into fifth place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,296 points. Freshman Tiffany Benson also tallied a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.

W&M got off to a good start and jumped out to a 9-0 lead, forcing the Seahawks to take a timeout less than four minutes into the contest. Kaylor sank back-to-back three-pointers, while James also connected on a long-ball during the opening stretch.

Shortly thereafter, UNCW charged back with a 7-0 run to cut the margin to two points, 11-9. However, the Tribe countered the run and quickly pushed the lead back to seven, 18-11, following a three-pointer by freshman Robyn Barton with 9:56 showing.

While the gap narrowed to five, 20-15, the Tribe limited the Seahawks to just two points during the final 7:30 and extended the advantage to 28-17 at halftime.

At the intermission, the College held UNC Wilmington to just 30.8 percent shooting and controlled the battle of the boards, 24-13. Additionally, by allowing just 17 points, the Tribe equaled its second-best first half defensive performance of the season. Individually, Benson led the team with eight points and six rebounds, while Kaylor had seven points and nine boards.

Little changed during the initial minutes of the second stanza, but W&M pushed the lead to 13 points, 37-24, after a three-pointer by sophomore Courtney Portell with 14:54 remaining. However, the Seahawks rattled off nine unanswered points during the next three minutes to close within four, 37-33.

The Green and Gold responded, though, and held the opposition scoreless for nearly seven minutes en route to tallying 13 straight points. James registered the first 10 points of the run, while Kaylor sank a three-pointer to punctuate it. UNCW was unable to get closer than 15 the rest of the way as W&M cruised to the victory.

The College improves to 13-1 this season when leading at the half.

W&M will be in action again when it plays at VCU on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Box Score