No. 15/20 Old Dominion Holds Off W&M, 63-55

01/20/08 5:25PM

WILLIAMSBURG - Although the William and Mary women’s basketball team led in the second half and trailed by just one point with 1:12 remaining, it fell to No 15/20 Old Dominion, 63-55, on Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena.

Senior Kyra Kaylor scored a game-high 18 points with eight rebounds and four steals to lead the Tribe (8-9, 2-3), while sophomore Kelly Heath finished with a career-high 16 points. Junior Courtney Portell sank a trio of three-pointers and tallied nine points, while senior Devin James and junior Dani Kell each registered three steals apiece.

As a team, W&M totaled 15 steals and forced ODU (14-3, 5-0) into 23 turnovers. Additionally, the College was impressive from the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-20 attempts. The Tribe also held the Lady Monarchs’ top scorer, T.J. Jordan, scoreless.

Both teams had trouble finding their rhythm offensively early in the contest, as ODU led, 4-2, at the initial media timeout. Shortly after the break, the Lady Monarchs took what would be their biggest lead of the half, 8-2, following a jumper by Jessica Canady at the 13:57 mark.

While Old Dominion led, 13-10, with less than 10 minutes left in the opening half, the Green and Gold utilized a 5-0 spurt to earn their first lead. Heath scored all five points for the Tribe, the final two of which came on a layin off a feed from Kaylor.

The teams traded the lead during the remainder of the half, as neither squad was able to build a significant advantage. However, ODU’s Jazzmin Walters converted a traditional three-point play in the waning seconds to give the Lady Monarchs a 30-27 lead at the break.

Heath led all scorers at the half with 10 points, while Kaylor had six points, five boards and a pair of steals. W&M held a narrow edge on the boards, 25-23, and already had eight steals.

While Old Dominion scored the opening basket of the second half, the Tribe rallied back with a 7-0 run to go ahead, 34-32. Portell got the run started with a three-pointer, while James sank a jumper and Kaylor made a layin.

Shortly thereafter, however, ODU rattled off eight straight points during a span of 2:23 to earn its first double-digit lead of the game, 46-36.

Although the College trailed by as many as 12 points and was behind 56-46 with 4:10 remaining, it rallied back with a 9-0 run to cut the margin to just one with 1:12 left on the clock. Kaylor provided four points during the stretch, while Portell sank a key three-pointer. A pair of free throws by Kell punctuated the run.

On the ensuing possession, Kaylor was whistled for her fifth foul and ODU’s Tiffany Green sank a pair of free throws. The Tribe was unable to score the rest of the way, as a layin by Green increased the lead to five and ODU put the game out of reach at the free throw line.

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

Box Score