TOWSON, Md. – Another sensational performance by sophomore Bre Bolden was negated on Sunday afternoon as the College of Charleston women's basketball team fell on the road to the Tribe of William & Mary, 74-59, at the Kaplan Center.
Notching her fourth double-double of the season, Bolden – a native of Edgewater, Md. – was the best player on the floor for large parts of the contest, finishing the day with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five steals. Also performing well in a losing effort were juniors Jacqueline Luna-Castro and Shannon Hines, who both dropped eight, while freshman point guard Shiclasia Brown continued her on-the-court maturation -- dishing out four assists in 28 minutes of action.
As a team, the Cougars (4-20, 2-11 CAA), shot the ball at a 39.3% clip while winning the battle on the glass 42-37, but were eventually undone by a strong showing from Tribe freshman Abby Rendle and 2013-14 all-conference selection Marlena Tremba, who finished with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Bucking a recent trend of slow starts, the Cougars came out guns blazing in the opening stages of the first half, taking a 10-4 lead in to the game's first media timeout. Undeterred, the Tribe were soon back in it, however, closing the gap to just two, 15-13, before taking their first lead of the game, 16-13, courtesy of a Brooke Stewart triple. The remainder of the half was tightly-contested – featuring six lead changes and three ties – before a late run by the Tribe handed the host's a 36-29 lead at the halftime whistle.
The Cougars again came out firing early in the second-half, closing the William & Mary lead to just three on two occasions. However, buoyed by a strong home crowd, the Tribe proved resilient and soon took firm control of the contest with an 18-6 run midway through stanza, claiming a commanding 56-42 lead with just 8:49 remaining.
Led by the energetic defensive play of Bolden, the Cougars again clawed their way back in to the game, cutting the deficit to seven, 64-57, with 3:05 left in the game. That was as close as the Cougars would come though, as the Tribe then managed to batten down the hatches and walk away with their sixth conference win of the season, 74-59.
Up next for The College is a Thursday night home match-up with the second-place Dragons of Drexel University, at TD Arena, where tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
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