Senior Abby Rendle scored a career-high 26 points and added seven rebounds as the William & Mary women’s basketball team cruised to a 68-54 Colonial Athletic Association opening victory at the College of Charleston on Friday night.
With the win, the Tribe improves to 10-2, 1-0 in CAA play, while the Cougars fall to 4-8, 0-1 in league action.
The Tribe opened the game on a 12-4 run to build a lead that wouldn’t relinquish. Charleston scored on its opening possession before Rendle scored the Tribe’s first four points and junior Bianca Boggs added a lay-up. After the Cougars scored again, Rendle ripped off the next four points, before senior Jenna Green added a basket to make it 12-4 with 6:52 left in the opening 10-minutes.
W&M built its lead to as many as 21 in the second quarter thanks to outscoring the Cougars 20-9 in the stanza. The period opened as the Tribe burst out on a 10-2 run. Green opened the second frame scoring with a jumper before Boggs hit a jumper. After Charleston scored, Rendle sandwiched two lay-ups around a Boggs lay-up giving W&M a 34-19 lead with 4:51 left in the half.
The Green and Gold used a quick 5-0 spurt to regain a 21-point cushion early in the third quarter. Rendle opened the rally with a lay-up before sophomore Nyla Pollard added a free throw, and Boggs scored to make it 49-28 with 6:03 left in the third.
Charleston used a late run to chip away at the lead, but could only cut it 67-54 on Cailin Dorsey 3-pointer with 48 seconds left.
W&M Starters – #2 Boggs, #11 Pollard, #12 Green, #24 Rendle, #30 Reynolds
CofC Starters – #2 Huff, #3 Brown, S., #15 Brown, T., #21 Larson, #25 Ford
Individual Leaders
Senior Abby Rendle led all scorers with a career-high 26 points on 12-of-14 from the floor, and she added seven rebounds to lead three Tribe players in double-figures. Junior Bianca Boggs chipped in 15 points, while senior Jenna Green added 11 points, eight dimes, and four thefts.
Tanisha Brown was the lone Cougar in double-figures as she finished with a double-double on 10 points and 13 rebounds. Shiclasia Brown added nine points, while Cailin Dorsey had eight points off of the bench.
Inside the Numbers
For the seventh time this season, W&M shot better than 45-percent from the floor finishing the game at 48.3-percent (29-60) from the field.
Twenty of the Tribe’s 31 misses were from 3-point range as the Tribe shot just 1-of-21 from deep. However, W&M was 28-of-39 from 2-point range, which is good 71.8-percent.
Charleston won the battle of the glass, 36-27. W&M, however, is now 7-1 when they lose the battle of the boards.
W&M forced Charleston into 26 turnovers and had 10 steals. W&M committed just 10 miscues of its own in the victory.
Notes
With her eight assists, senior Jenna Green now has 434 career assist, which moves her into third place all-time … Green was also in double-figures for the 10th time this season and 22nd time in her career. Senior Abby Rendle recorded her third 20-point performance of the season, her 10th double-digit contest of the season, and her 46th career double-digit game with her career-high 26 points. Rendle now has 913 career points and needs just 87 more points to become the 19th player in school history to score her 1,000th career point. Junior Bianca Boggs was in double-figures for the 10th time this season and 27th time in her career. The senior class of Green, Rendle, and Jeanne Gaumont won their 60th career game, which puts them just three wins away from becoming the winningest class in school history. W&M has now won its last three CAA openers, and Ed Swanson is now 3-2 in CAA openers. The Tribe now leads the all-time series with Charleston 12-7, and evened the road record at 3-3.
What’s Ahead
The Green and Gold closes its two-game CAA opening road trip as it travels to UNCW for a game on New Year’s Eve. Tipoff between the Tribe and the Seahawks is set for 2 p.m.
