Tribe Defeats UC Irvine, 71-56, at Bank of Hawaii Invitational

12/29/07 9:30PM

Honolulu, Hawaii - The William and Mary women’s basketball team wrapped up play at the Bank of Hawaii Invitational with a 71-56 triumph against UC Irvine on Saturday evening in Honolulu.

Sophomore Tiffany Benson earned a double-double with 17 points and 17 rebounds, while senior Devin James finished with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Sophomore Lauren Aadland and senior Kyra Kaylor also recorded double figures scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Kaylor became the program’s all-time leader in made free throws (448), breaking the previous mark established by Tiffany Williamson (447).

The Tribe (6-6) limited UCI (4-9) to just 35.2 percent shooting and held a 44-35 advantage on the glass. Additionally, W&M forced the Anteaters into 27 turnovers.

James scored the College’s first seven points to help the squad take a 7-5 lead at the initial media timeout.

While UCI evened the score at 7-7, W&M rattled off a 13-2 run during a four-minute span to build a 20-9 advantage. The Tribe’s defensive effort was key during the stretch, as UC Irvine was limited to just 3-of-14 shooting to start the game.

Shortly after earning the double-digit lead, the College extended the margin to 26-11 with a 6-0 spurt, punctuated with a three-pointer by sophomore Robyn Barton at the 9:05 mark.

The Anteaters gradually narrowed the lead and cut the deficit to just five points on a pair of occasions late in the half. However, W&M closed the stanza with a pair of quick buckets by James in the waning seconds to take a 41-32 lead into the locker room.

At the intermission, the Tribe was out-shooting UCI 45.5 percent to 34.5 percent and held a 20-19 edge on the boards. Additionally, W&M forced the opposition into 13 turnovers. James led the team with 11 points, while Benson had eight points and seven rebounds.

The Tribe went scoreless during the first five minutes of the second half, as UC Irvine scored nine straight points to even the count at 41-41. However, following a W&M timeout, the College responded with a 9-0 run of its own to build a 50-41 lead with 13:07 remaining. Kaylor came up big during the stretch, scoring seven of the Tribe’s points.

While both teams struggled offensively during the middle stage of the half, the Green and Gold maintained a comfortable advantage. The Tribe then put the game away with a 7-2 spurt to extend the lead to 65-49 with less than four minutes showing. Benson converted a pair of buckets during the run, while Aadland punctuated it with a three-pointer.

UCI was unable to get closer than 13 points the rest of the way, as W&M cruised to the victory.

The Tribe will return to action when it begins conference play against Towson on Jan. 6 in Williamsburg.

Box Score