Thursday night, the Tribe faced local rival University of Richmond. Led by junior Kyra Kaylor’s 18 points, the College secured a 67-54 win over the Spiders. Close behind was sophomore guard Dani Kell, who led the scoring at halftime and finished with 16 points on the night. Junior guard Devin James also added 12 points. The team now stands at 1-1, having lost their season opener to the University of Maine last Saturday.
p. Despite the constant change of possession, the Tribe held its composure against Richmond throughout the game. With only a four-point lead at halftime, the College wasted no time in the second half. In the opening play, senior guard Sarah Stroh drained a three-pointer to put the Tribe up by seven. Although Richmond retaliated with a quick jumper, James and Kell scored back to back buckets to put the Tribe ahead 38-29.
p. Rampant scoring continued on both ends as the Tribe led the Spiders 47-38 at the 11:50 media timeout. Richmond then outscored the College 9-6 to cut the lead to six points and force a time-out. With 3:20 remaining, Kaylor hit a clutch three-pointer and the Tribe never looked back. Coming up big down the stretch, Kaylor knocked down eight of her nine free-throws, and James and Kell tallied a combined three points from the line.
p. Although Richmond never backed down, the Tribe did not let the Spiders within nine points for the remainder of the game. By a final margin of 67-54, the College recorded its first win of the season. Again, the Tribe held a 37-32 advantage on the boards, shooting 55 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free-throw line.
p. The team dropped its first contest of the season to Maine Nov. 11. The lead changed hands several times throughout the first half, and the Tribe only trailed by seven going into the locker room. James led the College, scoring 15 points and securing 11 rebounds to earn a double-double. Kaylor added nine points and eight rebounds. Their efforts did not suffice, however, as Maine outscored the Tribe 32-19 in the second half to secure the win.
Scoring was slow to start the game, but the Tribe picked up the intensity after the first media time-out when Stroh scored the game’s first three-pointer to give the College a 7-6 margin. The Black Bears then scored seven unanswered points in a three-minute span. At the 12-minute mark, a pair of free throws by sophomore center Katie Tausanovitch sparked an 8-0 run for the College.
p. Although Maine managed to temporarily regain control, another set of free-throws and a lay-up by James gave the Tribe a 19-16 lead with 8:55 remaining. This was not enough to keep the Black Bears at bay, however, as they responded with an uncontested nine-point run, taking a 27-21 lead over the Tribe. Although freshman guard Robyn Barton drained a three-pointer in the final minute of the first, the College faced a 34-27 deficit going into the locker room.
p. The Black Bears dominated the second half from the start, scoring five points early and forcing a Tribe time-out. Kell cut the lead to 39-30 with a three-pointer at the 17-minute mark, but the College could not capitalize thereafter.
p. Maine proceeded to make a 15-2 run, leaving the Tribe to trail 56-32 with 8:57 left on the clock. Despite baskets by a variety of players, the College could not tally enough points to significantly strip away Maine’s lead.
p. Despite the loss, the College did shoot an outstanding 84.2 percent from the free-throw line, as well as out-rebound its opponent 42-34.
p. The Tribe is scheduled to play at home against the University of North Texas Sunday at 2 p.m. in Kaplan Arena.
