William and Mary fell 66-50 to Hofstra Thursday in Harrisonburg, Va. ending its run in the CAA Tournament and finishing the season at 12-18, the worst finish for the College in the past five years.
“We had a very good first half, but missed some opportunities in transition. That really cost us the game,” Head Coach Debbie Taylor said.
The Pride led by three at halftime before going on a 9-2 run to take a 34-24 lead. A jump shot by freshman forward Emily Correal off a pass from sophomore guard Taysha Pye cut the lead to 45-40, but the Tribe would get no closer.
“The score isn’t indicative of our performance,” Taylor said. “We let it get away from us at the end.”
Four Tribe players scored in double figures, including Correal and Pye, who scored 11 points apiece. Correal also tallied 7 rebounds and 3 assists, finishing second for the Tribe in both categories.
Senior forward Tiffany Benson scored 10 points and pulled down 8 rebounds in her last game for the Tribe, while junior guard Lindsey Moller scored 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting to go along with 3 steals.
“We had no scoring from the bench,” Taylor said. “We needed more people to contribute.”
The Pride bench outscored the Tribe 24-0, with sophomore guard Katherine DeHenzel being the only other Tribe player to finish in the score sheet with 8 points. Despite the efforts from Benson and Correal, the Tribe was out-rebounded by the Pride 44-35.
For the first time this season, the College did not sink a three-pointer. Sophomore guard Janine Aldridge, usually reliable from behind the arc, finished 0-for-5 from the floor, while the team finished a combined 0-for-6 from behind the three-point line
“This was a rebuilding year; we’re a young team. It’s exciting to think we had a number of freshmen and sophomores with significant game time this year. We’re really looking forward to working with the team as a coaching staff this offseason to improve for next year,” Taylor said.
