Game 726 - William & Mary women at Drexel

March 1 at Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, PA
Drexel Dragons TV

I?

watched at work the first three quarters of this game, then the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and first overtime on a bus, missed all but 18 seconds of the second overtime while waiting for a train, then watched the third and final overtime on my final bus ("the one-twenty"  - teenagers) home.

!

It's the triple-double of something.

It was also a nearly-three-hour adventure for both me and these two Colonial Athletic Conference rivals, and William & Mary pulled the stunner, 77-72, just as we pulled up to my apartment complex.

A truly historic day for 200 Game Season.

The loss snapped Drexel's 12-game winning streak and got the visiting Tribe to .500 overall at 13-13 (6-9 in the CAA).

The hosts had pulled even at 57-57 on a pair of free throws by Niki Metzel with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter. That was the last points for either team in regulation, then W&M went up 61-57 in the first minute and a half of overtime on a pair of buckets from Bianca Boggs. It took until the 1:38 mark of OT for Drexel to snap what turned into a drought of 4:50. Again, W&M built a four-point lead and Drexel tied it, getting a pair of free throws from Metzel with 11 seconds left to force overtime No. 2.

(The Tribe's Misha Jones had a good look from the corner, but missed as time expired).

** Most of the second OT went on without me as I waited on a train - no internet service is available at MARTA train stations, though that half-eaten burrito was. But complain, I will not: 1. when I was a kid, watching college basketball anywhere but inside a building on a television was unheard of, let alone while traveling on a bus; 2. I ate a full burrito just three days ago. The teams went back and forth until Boggs had a chance to put W&M ahead with 36 seconds to play, yet made only 1-of-2 from the line. I got on my final bus just as Jones' second attempt at a game-winning 3-pointer rimmed out.

Third overtime.....

William & Mary picked up a great and memorable road victory, but Drexel helped out quite a bit with poor shooting. After Ana Ferariu hit a jumper 14 seconds into the third OT, the Dragons didn't make another basket the rest of the way & four of the Dragons' third-OT possession resulted in air balls (3) and a shot clock violation (1). Drexel was 1-of-9 from the field in the third overtime and 0-of-10 from 3-point range in the three extra periods.

Hailey Greenberg led the Dragons with 24 points, but was at the forefront of her team's shooting slump, missing all but one of her nine field goal attempts in the overtimes. Metzel added 21.

Boggs' lay-up with 3:42 left gave the Tribe the lead for good. The senior guard scored a game-high 32 points on 11-of-14 shooting and scored 14 of W&M's 20 overtime points.

The Tribe shot 53% for the game and though it took 55 minutes to do it, scored nearly 30 points more than Drexel was allowing per game (nation-leading 47.6).

Game 726 was one of the most hectic and enjoyable ones we've had in 3+ years.

Games 648-650: Weekend tripleheader

650- Indiana State vs. UNLV
December 23 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, HI
ESPN2

Jordan Barnes didn't attempt a shot until 7 1/2 minutes remained in the first half, yet finished with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting in Indiana State's 84-79 win in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic.

The Sycamores (8-3), who will play either Bucknell or TCU in the final Christmas Day, have an excellent trio in Barnes, wing Tyreke Key (16 points) and 6-9, 255-pound post player Emondre Rickman (13 points, 6-of-9 FG). ISU, which came in leading the country in three-point shooting, hit 41% of their long-range shots Sunday, but took just 12 from behind the arc and had a surprisingly-huge night in the post thanks to players like Rickman.

The Sycamores look like a definite contender in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Nice nights for sophomore Amauri Hardy - 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field - and freshman Joel Ntambwe (21 points, 15 rebounds) in a losing effort for UNLV.

649 - William & Mary at Virginia
December 22 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA
ACC Network

Other games watched:

Texas State at Arkansas
Winthrop at Southern Illinois


648 - Idaho at Santa Clara
December 21 at Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA
wccsports.com

Nonsense

"went in amongst the trees"
"it's a foul fest"
"fundamental footwork"
"rainbow three"
"ladies and gentleman, see the Vandals run"
"he's a stretch three"
"trap game"
"the cozy confines of the Leavey Center"
"a cardinal basketball sin"