Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Taysha Pye scored 28 points to lead William & Mary over the Norfolk State women's basketball team, 74-59, Wednesday evening at Kaplan Arena.

The Tribe (1-6) secured their first win of the season as Pye and Emily Correal (18 points) combined for 46 points on the night. The loss dropped NSU to 4-3 on the season.

Junior Whitney Long was the only player in double figures for the Spartans, as she posted 24 points on 11-of-22 shooting with seven rebounds and three steals. It marked the second-highest scoring output of her career.

Sophomore Marian Brooks tallied nine points with 10 rebounds, while freshman Rae Corbo added eight points. Sophomore Recca Trice posted a game-high five assists for NSU.

The Spartans could not find their shooter's touch in the second half, hitting 31.7 percent in the second stanza and 37.1 percent overall (26-of-70) after connecting on 44.8 percent in the first half. The Tribe hit 56.0 percent in the second half and 46.0 percent overall (29-of-63).

Pye posted a double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with her 11-of-24 shooting, while Kaitlyn Mathieu also contributed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Correal nearly added the third double-double for the Tribe as she grabbed nine rebounds.

William & Mary posted a 45-43 edge in rebounds, despite having a 16-rebound margin in the first half. NSU converted on just 4-of-11 free throws (36.4 percent) in the game, while the Tribe hit 15-of-25 (60 percent).

The Spartans started off slow, as the Tribe scored the first seven points of the game until Corbo hit a floater in the lane with 16:14 to go in the first half. However, NSU caught fire after that make and went on a 19-2 run to take a commanding 19-9 lead.

Long sparked the run with four baskets, and NSU stole the William & Mary inbounds pass on three separate occasions during that time, including two times in a row during a 10-second span, and converted them into easy layups to build the double-digit lead.

Pye scored the Tribe's next eight points and 12 of the next 14 as they used a 15-5 run to tied the score at 24-24. NSU was held scoreless for more than three minutes during that span. Senior Genor Dalton hit a jumper to give NSU a 27-26 lead with 5:16 to go, but the Tribe took the lead right back.

William & Mary ended the half on a 15-2 run, holding NSU scoreless for another three-minute span, for a 41-29 lead.

Pye scored 16 points in the first half, but the story of the half was the Tribe's 28-12 edge in rebounding. William & Mary had 14 boards on the offensive and defensive side, and turned those 14 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points.

NSU shot 46.4 percent in the half, compared to 39.5 percent for William & Mary, but the Tribe attempted 10 more shots and went 10-of-12 from the free throw line, compared to just 2-of-4 for NSU. Long led the team with 10 points in that first stanza.

Long hit a pair of baskets then sank a 3-pointer with 15:41 left in the second half as NSU was able to cut the deficit to eight at 48-40 heading into the under-16 minute media timeout. Both teams struggled to convert during the next several minutes, but the Spartans were unable to get the Tribe lead below seven points during that time.

Long kept NSU in the game, sinking a 3-pointer from near the top of the key and then hitting a layup to make it 55-47 with 10:42 left, but a 13-4 run by the Tribe, during which NSU went scoreless for nearly five minutes, put the game out of reach as William & Mary went on to win, 74-59.

NSU will return home to host McNeese State Saturday at 4 p.m. at Joseph Echols Hall before taking an 11-day break for the holidays.