W&M Falls to Towson, 57-48, in Conference Opener

01/06/08 5:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women’s basketball team fell to Towson, 57-48, in its conference opener on Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena.

Senior Kyra Kaylor led the Tribe (6-7, 0-1) with a double-double, totaling 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native also equaled a career-high with four blocks. Junior Courtney Portell finished with 15 points and was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Towson (9-3, 1-0) began the contest playing particularly well, as it scored the game’s initial 18 points. Despite the large deficit early, W&M fought back and held the Tigers scoreless for nearly a 10-minute span. In doing so, the Green and Gold cut the lead to just 18-12 with 6:50 remaining in the half. Junior Devin James ignited the run with six points.

The College continued its comeback and narrowed the advantage to five, 22-17, following a traditional three-point play by Kaylor with 3:17 showing. However, TU closed the half with an 8-0 run to take a 30-17 lead into the locker room.

At the break, James led the Tribe with six points, while Kaylor had a team-high 10 rebounds.

Both teams struggled offensively following the intermission, as they combined to score six points during the opening 7:55 of the second frame.

Towson pushed its lead back to 17 points early in half, but W&M charged back with a 10-1 run and trailed by just eight, 35-27, with 10:32 left to play. Portell came up big during the stretch with eight points on a pair of three-pointers and a layin.

Towson countered the Tribe’s run by scoring 11 unanswered points during the next 4:21 to take its biggest lead of the game, 46-27. While a three-pointer by Kaylor in the final minute cut the margin to eight, 52-44, W&M was unable to get closer the rest of the way.

The Tribe will return to action when it plays at VCU on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

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