Tribe Falls to James Madison, 69-53

02/03/08 5:00PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women’s basketball team had its two-game winning streak snapped with a 69-53 loss to James Madison on Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena.

W&M (10-11, 4-5) was led by senior Kyra Kaylor, who scored a game-high 19 points to go along with nine rebounds and two steals. Kaylor is now just five rebounds away from breaking the program’s career record. Sophomore Tiffany Benson also played well and earned a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while senior Devin James finished with 15 points and seven steals.

As a team, the College totaled 13 steals and forced JMU (14-6, 7-2) into 26 turnovers.

The contest was close early, as the Dukes edged ahead, 9-6, at the initial media timeout. Following the break, the Tribe utilized a 5-0 spurt, punctuated with a three-pointer by freshman Katy Oblinger from the right wing, to take an 11-9 lead with 13:49 showing.

Shortly thereafter, however, JMU rattled off a 9-1 run during a three-minute span to build a 20-14 advantage.

A jumper by Kaylor narrowed the margin to just one, 21-20, with 8:12 remaining in the half, but James Madison scored 13 of the next 15 points to go ahead, 34-22, late in the frame.

The Tribe forced the Dukes into 15 turnovers during the first stanza but trailed 34-24 at the intermission. Kaylor led all scorers with nine points, while James already had five steals.

A three-pointer by freshman Katherine DeHenzel cut the lead to eight, 39-31, three minutes into the second half, but JMU responded with a 12-3 run during the next 5:33 to take a 51-34 advantage.

James Madison extended the margin to as many as 23 points, 59-36, with 9:12 remaining before the Tribe countered with a 10-1 run. Benson came up big during the stretch with six points, while Kaylor added the other four.

The College was unable to get closer than 14 points the rest of the way as JMU held on for the win.

The Tribe will return to action when it plays at Towson on Thursday at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the first of three consecutive road games for W&M.

Box Score