Williamsburg Sun

Tribe Scribe: Northeastern’s second-half pressure too much for W&M Women

Midway through the third quarter, William & Mary had taken a one-point lead with its defense. But in a blink, everything turned the other way.

With a relentless full-court press, Northeastern took control and pulled away for a 71-57 win Sunday afternoon in Boston. The Tribe (5-8, 0-2 CAA) was outscored 32-8 in an 11-minute, 40-second stretch that overlapped the third and fourth quarters.

It was the same press W&M was able to handle in the first half. The second half was a different story.

"When they went on their run, they were just more aggressive, and we got lax," Tribe coach Erin Dickerson Davis said. "When we did break it, we struggled to score. We just turned the ball over in the third quarter, and that dictated what our defense looked like.

"Their press just rattled us so bad and we couldn't find our sea legs. I'm not sure what the difference was between the first and second half as far as the press, but it rattled us, and we couldn't bounce back from it."

Riley Casey led W&M with 14 points. Sydney Wagner added 12, along with a team-leading three assists.

The Tribe made 7 of its first 17 shots and led 21-13 with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter. But the Huskies scored the final seven points of the period and took a 26-25 lead at halftime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Derin Erdogan.

Trailing 34-29 three minutes into the third quarter, the Tribe answered with two Wagner free throws, a 3-pointer by Casey, and a free throw by Wagner to take a 35-34 lead with 5:24 remaining. But Northeastern quickly regained control.

The Tribe's next game will be Sunday afternoon against Charleston at Kaplan Arena. The Cougars (6-6, 1-1) defeated Towson 53-48 Thursday night and lost to North Carolina A&T 66-58 Sunday afternoon.

 

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