Box Score WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Despite a strong effort on the boards, the Norfolk State women's basketball team could not overcome an efficient offensive performance from William & Mary on Thursday night as the host Tribe outlasted the Spartans 67-47 at Kaplan Arena.
The Spartans (0-8) outrebounded William & Mary (8-1) 47-38, but the Tribe shot 41 percent from the floor and 47 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range. The Tribe also assisted on 24 of its 27 baskets and committed just 12 turnovers while forcing NSU into 25 giveaways.
Abby Rendle led all scorers with 16 points for W&M, and Alexandra Masaquel chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds. NSU was led by senior forward
Siobhan Beslow with 10 points and nine rebounds. Fellow forward
Kayla Roberts grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds.
The Spartans scored the first four points of the game on layups by
Koryn Lawrence and
Yazmen Hannah, but William & Mary answered with a 12-3 run over the next four minutes to open up a 12-7 lead. The Tribe held a seven-point edge (20-13) after scoring the final five points of the first quarter.
Beslow scored on an offensive rebound with 3:23 left before the half to bring NSU within 30-22, but the Tribe went on an extended 18-0 run spanning the end of the second quarter and majority of the third to pull away. The Spartans went nearly the length of a full quarter (9:46) between baskets.
The Tribe scored the final seven points of the second period and first 11 of the third to take a 48-22 lead. NSU junior forward
Amber Brown finally snapped the dry spell with a layup at the 3:37 mark of the third quarter, but the Spartans could not get closer than 17 the rest of the way.
The Spartans finished the game shooting 34.5 percent from the floor (19-of-55) and 23 percent (3-of-13) from 3-point range. Hannah and
Kiara Phillips scored nine points each and
Alexys Long eight for the Spartans. Beslow had two steals and one block defensively for NSU, and Roberts blocked a pair of shots. The Spartans finished with seven blocks on the night.
Thursday marked the first time since playing Virginia on Nov. 16 that NSU outrebounded its opponent. The Spartans had 18 offensive rebounds against W&M, led by five from Beslow. Roberts grabbed 14 of her rebounds on the defensive end.
NSU returns to action on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Marshall.
