With her first block against UNC-Wilmington, Tribe forward Tiffany Benson inscribed her name forever into the CAA record books as the conference’s all-time blocks leader.
Otherwise, it was a forgettable afternoon Sunday for the College, as William and Mary (10-10, 3-6) fell to UNC-Wilmington 69-59 at Kaplan arena.
Benson’s record-setting rejection came with 16:19 remaining in the first half, as the senior forward swatted away a Whitney Simmons shot from just outside the lane. The block gave Benson 237 blocks for her career, moving her ahead of former George Mason forward Trish Halpin on the all-time conference list.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment. I’ve never had a player here do that, become number one in the CAA,” Head Coach Debbie Taylor said. “To have a William and Mary player number one all time in the CAA speaks loudly and I am just really proud of her.”
Benson, who would record another block later in the contest, recorded her sixth double-double of the season Sunday, scoring 12 points to go along with 15 rebounds in the losing effort.
The rest of the afternoon Sunday would prove less memorable for the Tribe, as the College committed 22 turnovers and shot 30 percent from the field in the second half against the Seahawks.
The team’s leading scorer on the season, sophomore guard Taysha Pye, did not enter the game until the 16:09 mark of the second half. Despite only seeing 16 minutes of action, Pye led all scorers with 17 points.
“[Pye] was horrible in the last game. She didn’t deserve to play,” Taylor said. “She was a much better player than she had been playing and obviously you can see what she can do when she wants to play.”
Sophomore guard Janine Aldridge was the only other College player to score in double figures, racking up 10 points despite going 4-for-16 from the field, 2-for-12 from behind the three-point line.
The Tribe’s inability to put the ball in the basket, coupled with the team’s turnovers, allowed UNC-Wilmington to come out of the gate strong in the second half, as the Seahawks started the half on a 10-2 run.
The College would cut the lead to eight on a Pye jumper with 1:30 remaining in the game, but would get no closer, going 1-for-4 from the field in the last minute and a half of the game.
“Our problem right now is that we’re getting inconsistent play from good players” Taylor said about losing their last six of eight. “Everybody needs to bring to the table what they can bring every night. We’ve got a long way to go and I still feel like we are a very good team.”
For a final box score, click here.
