NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware women's basketball team suffered a 61-57 loss to William & Mary on Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena at William & Mary Hall, digging out of a second-half hole before allowing six straight points in the final two minutes.

Freshman guard Tesia Harris (at right) led the Blue Hens (2-13, 1-2 Colonial Athletic Association) with a career-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while senior guard Kyle DeHaven, a second-year transfer from William & Mary, posted her best line of the year with 11 points, eight steals, seven assists, and zero turnovers. Sophomore forward Sha'Ron Harrison added nine points and nine rebounds in a solid effort for Delaware.

Kelly Heath and Courtney Postell led four William & Mary (7-8, 1-2 CAA) scorers in double figures with 14 points each while Kyra Kaylor and Dani Kell each scored 11 points with Kaylor pulling a team-high eight rebounds.

"We fought hard to come back from a 12-point deficit in the second half," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. "But in the end, our decision-making let us down today."

The Hens and Tribe battled basket for basket early on, as Harrison knotted the score at 9-9 with two free throws with 11:19 left in the first half. Harris shouldered the Hens’ offensive load over the next six minutes, pouring in eight of UD’s 11 points in the stretch and bringing Delaware to within 23-20 on a jumper at the 4:57 mark.

William & Mary swingman Devin James extended her team’s lead to five on a lay-up with 3:39 left before the halftime horn, but UD freshman Vanessa Kabongo answered by scoring six unanswered points to give the Hens a 28-27 edge in the final minute of the period. Tribe forward Tiffany Benson, the CAA leader in offensive rebounds and blocked shots, followed up a Kell miss with 21 ticks left to put the Tribe ahead 29-28 at intermission.

Delaware shot 48.7 percent from the floor in the first half, connecting on five of its last six shots. But the Hens surrendered 10 offensive boards to the Tribe, who were limited to 37.5 percent shooting.

UD regained the lead at 33-32 on a turnaround jumper in the lane by senior forward Courtney Irving at the 16:33 mark, but William & Mary roared back with a 13-0 run highlighted by two consecutive three-pointers by Portell, the league leader in trifectas. The last one, a bomb from the right wing, gave the Tribe a commanding 45-33 lead with 11:54 left in regulation.

But Delaware wasn’t done. The Hens put together a 12-2 run behind six
points from Irving and four from Harrison to trim the deficit to two with 6:24 remaining. After the teams traded baskets for a few possessions, the Hens finally grabbed the lead when DeHaven made a steal – her eighth of the game – and raced downcourt for a lay-in.

Up 54-53 at the 2:29 mark, the Hens needed one big stop to put real
pressure on William & Mary in the final moments. Kaylor, a first-team preseason All-CAA pick who had been quiet for most of the game, wouldn’t let the Tribe lose. She drove baseline for a lay-up to put her squad ahead by one with two minutes left, and William & Mary would never relinquish the lead.

A lay-up by Heath and two free throws from Kaylor iced the game for the Tribe, who avenged last year’s 68-55 loss to the Hens in Newark.

Delaware went 25-for-57 (.439) from the floor, its best shooting performance since a Nov. 23 loss to Louisville. The Hens also hit three three-pointers – including two late in the second half by Harris - after going a combined 0-for-17 from beyond the arc in their previous three outings.

Delaware returns to the court on Thursday, when the Hens host UNC Wilmington.

Boxscore