Sunday, Jan. 26, William and Mary women’s basketball (8-10, 5-2 CAA) finished off a golden weekend with a 58-47 win over Towson (4-14, 2-5 CAA) at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va.
The Tribe defeated the Towson Tigers in the Gold Rush game to extend its win streak to four. William and Mary most recently defeated North Carolina Wilmington (16-5, 6-2 CAA) with a 78-55 win. The Tribe carried the momentum of its success streak and began Sunday’s matchup against Towson with a dominant first quarter.
“Being able to win four in a row is not really surprising to me because we have been attacking since Christmas break and preparing ourselves for this moment,” head coach Erin Dickerson Davis said. “In this league, you have to show up every single day. You can’t just come in and assume you are going to win.”
Although Towson took the first basket, William and Mary responded with two quick three-pointers by junior forward Kayla Rolph and sophomore guard Cassidy Geddes within the first two minutes. William and Mary extended its lead with a layup and jumper by sophomore center Jana Sallman, one free throw and field goal by freshman forward Natalie Fox and a layup by Rolph.
Towson was forced to call a timeout after senior guard Bella Nascimento contributed to William and Mary’s 18-4 lead with another three-pointer, extending the Green and Gold’s streak of perfect shooting from beyond the arc.
The Tribe continued to set the tone with aggressive defense and impressive shooting. Utilizing mid-range jumpers and three-pointers, William and Mary shot 57.1% from the field and 50% from three compared to Towson’s 22.2% from the field and 0-4 from three.
After Towson’s timeout, William and Mary faced some challenges with untimely turnovers and foul calls, allowing Towson five points. The Tribe however held on to its lead, finishing the quarter leading 20-9.
Big plays in the second quarter by Nascimento ignited the Golden crowd and helped the Tribe continue to outscore the Tigers. Nascimento demanded the ball and controlled the floor, resulting in a stand-out 24-point performance.
The senior guard also reached a monumental accomplishment of 1,000 career points off a fast-break lay-up in the second quarter.
“When I hit my thousand, I could hear it from the crowd,” Nascimento said. “I felt it and then I feel like that boosted us in the game and that really helped us amp up our own energy and go right back at them.”
William and Mary set the groundwork in the first quarter and successfully kept its lead during the second half. Despite Towson outscoring the Tribe in the last two quarters, William and Mary’s significant lead from the beginning of the game kept them out of the Tigers’ reach, ending the game with a Tribe win of 58-47.
Friday, Jan. 31, William and Mary (9-10, 6-2 CAA) defeated conference foe Elon (11-8, 5-3 CAA) 64-59 at the Schar Center in Elon, N.C. The victory extended the Tribe’s winning streak to five, the program’s longest under the tenure of head coach Erin Dickerson Davis, which dates back to 2022.
The Green and Gold were powered by the efforts of guard duo Geddes and Nascimento, who combined for 43 points, 12 rebounds, nine steals and four assists on the night. Geddes tied a career high in rebounds with seven, while Nascimento scored double-digit points for the eighth consecutive game.
Geddes was wholly satisfied with the Tribe backcourt’s defensive and rebounding performances.
“All week all we heard was how we lost on the boards and how the guards were the ones not rebounding last time we played [Elon],” Geddes said, referencing a Jan. 5 game in which the Phoenix defeated the Tribe in overtime. “So we knew that it was on us to turn up the defense [and] to pick up on the rebounds. So we just took the challenge head on.”
Elon took an early lead courtesy of an 8-0 run, but a William and Mary offensive onslaught quickly turned the tables. Thanks to seven consecutive points from Geddes, the Tribe shot back into control, taking a 23-15 advantage with 5:39 left in the first half. Nascimento scored eight points during the frame, graduate student forward Rebekah Frisby-Smith pulled down three rebounds and senior forward Aniha-Lee Cauley recorded four points and four assists.
Nevertheless, the Phoenix continued to fight back. The visitors surged ahead at the end of the half, taking a 33-29 lead into the locker room on the back of hot three-point shooting. A subsequent Tribe run evened the score at 37, and the teams traded leads for the next several minutes.
The third quarter was defined by its competitiveness. It briefly seemed as though Elon was pulling away as the Phoenix took a 48-40 advantage, but a scoring spurt by Sallman kept the Tribe within striking distance.
William and Mary finally buried its opponents in the final period, turning in an 18-8 run catalyzed by eight forced turnovers. It marked the fourth consecutive Tribe victory that was decided by a lopsided scoring stretch.
“We had a big self-reflection talk after [losing to Stony Brook on Jan. 10] and we learned that we have a lot more in the tank than we thought,” Geddes said. “So we never get discouraged in games. We know we’re going to be fine because we can pull it together and find our way out of any hole now.”
Sunday, Feb. 2, William and Mary fell at the hands of Campbell (12-9, 5-4 CAA) 92-71 at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va. The result marked the end of the Tribe’s five-game winning streak and was the Tribe’s first defeat since the aforementioned Jan. 10 loss to Stony Brook.
Although Nascimento again scored double-digit points, finishing the night with 23 while racking up a career-high seven assists, Geddes was held to just four points while committing three turnovers, and Sallman scored four points in just nine minutes of playing time. Junior forward Kayla Rolph was the only Tribe player other than Nascimento to find an offensive groove, posting a statline of 16 points on 7-12 shooting.
The Green and Gold kept the game competitive for the first period, entering the halftime break trailing 42-38. However, red-hot Campbell shooting would ultimately prove too much for the home team to overcome. The Camels were ineffective from beyond the arc, making just four of their 16 3-point attempts, but they connected on 56.5% of their 2-point attempts and 90.3% of their free throw attempts.
“It made it difficult for us defensively and offensively,” Dickerson Davis said of Campbell’s shooting proficiency. “At some point when you are scoring and then you’re defending well and they’re still hitting shots or they’re getting fouled, it’s kind of demoralizing at some point.”
The Tribe had won each of its previous four games on the back of a dominant scoring run, but it wasn’t able to conjure up a similar stretch on Sunday.
“What I told them at some point during the fourth quarter, I was like, right now we look like quitters and that’s not who we are,” Dickerson Davis said. “It took them to kind of realize that to then try to go on our run again, but I think we just ran out of gas at some point.”
Dickerson Davis also chalked some of the team’s struggles up to exhaustion upon returning from Elon.
“We were extraordinarily fatigued after the Elon game. I think it took a lot out of us,” Dickerson Davis said. “And then on top of that to travel back here, we got back at 2:00 in the morning and then we had to practice at 10:00. So, you know, it’s just the way the league is, so you can’t really sit here and be mad about this for too long.”
The Tribe will attempt to start a new winning streak Feb. 9, when it hits the road to take on the Hampton Pirates (5-15, 1-8 CAA) at the Hampton University Convocation Center. Despite the loss to Campbell, William and Mary remains tied for third in the CAA standings.