The William & Mary women edged Towson 52-51 in a defensive struggle Friday night in Maryland.
Kyah Smith led the Tribe (12-9, 5-5 Coastal Athletic Association) with 14 points. When she sank a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 3:03 remaining for a 52-49, little did anyone know that would be W&M’s last points.
But the Tribe’s defense preserved the lead. India Johnston hit a jumper for Towson (12-10, 5-5) with 1:11 to go, and the Tribe missed a couple of shots after that. But the Tigers’ Tilda Sjokvist missed a 10-footer with 3 seconds left, and the clock ran out.
Cassidy Geddes had 11 points and five rebounds for W&M, while Monet Dance had 10 points and eight rebounds and Alexa Mikeska had six points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
No Tigers reached double digits, with Masyn Marchbanks scoring nine points for a team that shot just 33% (19 of 58). The Tribe also shot 33% (21 of 64).
Drexel 75, Hampton 42: From the start in Philadelphia, the Pirates (9-13, 3-7 CAA) were overwhelmed by the Dragons (14-7, 7-3), who got 24 points from Amaris Baker.
Kiki McElrath had seven points to lead HU, which fell behind 20-0. The Pirates went the first 10:42 without scoring; Janaye Walker finally ended the drought by sinking the second of two free throws with 9:18 left in the second quarter.
Aisha Dabo had eight rebounds and six points and Aaryn Battle had five points, four rebounds and four assists for the Pirates.
Bryant & Stratton 87, Guilford Tech 65: Princess Anne High alumna Hailey Harris had 22 points and nine rebounds Thursday as the Bobcats (17-2, 12-1 conference), ranked 18th in National Junior College Athletic Association Division II, prevailed over a team from Jamestown, North Carolina.
Manor graduate Sian Lewin had 17 points and six rebounds, Sanai Johnson had 16 points, and Maury product Myla Parker added 12 points and five rebounds.
Men
No. 22 St. John’s 81, No. 3 Connecticut 72: Zuby Ejiofor had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists at sold-out Madison Square Garden as St. John’s (18-5, 11-1 Big East) snapped an 18-game winning streak by the Huskies (22-2, 12-1).
In the first showdown this season between the league’s top two teams, Dillon Mitchell added 15 points and Bryce Hopkins 14 for the Red Storm, who have won nine straight and 14 of 16. They moved within a half-game of the first-place Huskies.
The victory also tied Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino with Roy Williams for third place in Division I history with 903 career wins on the court. Silas Demary Jr. had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for UConn.
VCU 99, Dayton 73: The Rams extended their winning streak to seven by beating a big rival with ease at Siegel Center.
Jadrian Tracey’s 26 points, including 6-of-9 3-point shooting, propelled the Rams (18-6, 9-2), who moved a half-game ahead of George Mason for second place in the Atlantic 10. Terrence Hill Jr. and Tyrell Ward scored 14 each.
Amael L’Etang had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Flyers (15-9, 6-5), who trailed 56-27 less than a minute into the second half. Jordan Derkack added 15 points and eight rebounds.
Averett 61, Virginia Wesleyan 56: In a game that was suspended because of a slick court Jan. 10 in Danville, the Cougars (13-6, 6-5) held on to beat the Marlins and knocked VWU (14-6, 9-2) out of first place in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. They fell a half-game behind Randolph-Macon (18-2, 10-2), the nation’s No. 6 Division III team.
When the game was stopped after players from both teams had slipped, Averett led 47-43 with 9:39 remaining.
The Cougars scored the first seven points Friday to go ahead 54-43. The Marlins then went on a 10-0 run to pull to 54-53 with 2:11 remaining, but a Mason Mitchell 3-pointer at the 1:30 mark returned the momentum to Averett. He sank two free throws with 5 seconds left for the game’s final points.
Tyler Stephens and Jackson Sellars led Averett with 18 points each.
For VWU, Amari Moorer had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Omari DeVeaux had 12 points and Paul Anderson had nine points and 10 rebounds. The Marlins shot just 35.6% (21 of 59).
