Tribe Falls at Northeastern, 57-52

03/02/08 5:00PM

BOSTON - Sophomore Tiffany Benson totaled 21 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks, but the William and Mary women’s basketball team fell at Northeastern, 57-52, on Sunday afternoon.

In addition to Benson, sophomore Kelly Heath also played well and nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.

As a team, the Tribe (13-16, 7-10) out-rebounded the Huskies (12-15, 7-10), 42-36.

Northeastern connected on four of its first five shots from the field and jumped out to a 10-4 advantage at the initial media timeout.

While NU extended the margin to 12-4 following a pair of free throws by Lucia Pablos, the College answered with five straight points to cut the lead to three with 13:10 showing.

The Huskies countered with an 8-0 run during the next 4:21 to push the advantage to 20-9.

Although Northeastern led 24-15 after a long jumper by Jasmine Crew with 5:32 remaining, the Tribe closed the half with a 13-2 run to take a one-point lead into the locker room. Benson came up big during the stretch with eight points, while Heath sank a long three-pointer as the halftime buzzer sounded.

At the half, Benson already had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Also impressive at the defensive end, Benson registered four blocks. As a team, W&M held a 22-16 advantage on the boards and limited the Huskies to just 33.3 percent shooting.

The Tribe began the second half well and extended the lead to 38-31 at the first media timeout. Freshman Katy Oblinger ignited the offense with a pair of three-pointers, while Heath and Benson also provided baskets.

While W&M pushed the lead to nine, 40-31, following a layin by senior Devin James with 14:16 showing, NU rallied back with a 13-4 run during the next seven minutes to even the score at 44-44.

With the score still knotted, 48-48, following a layin by Benson with 4:15 left, the Huskies gradually pulled away down the stretch with a 9-2 run en route to earning the five-point win. W&M had a chance to cut the lead to two with 13 seconds remaining, but a three-pointer by senior Kyra Kaylor from the left side rattled out, and NU came down with the rebound.

The Tribe will close out the regular season when it hosts VCU on Senior Night this Thursday at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the final home game for Kaylor and James.

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