Friday, Feb. 14, William and Mary women’s basketball (10-13, 7-5 CAA) lost in heartbreaking fashion against Drexel (13-9, 9-3 CAA), falling 59-58 in overtime at the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
The Tribe, which entered Friday’s Coastal Athletic Association matchup fresh off of a Feb. 9 overtime win over Hampton (6-18, 2-11 CAA), started hot against the hosting Dragons. After falling behind 6-2, William and Mary scored five straight points to take its first lead of the game, powered by a crafty steal and score from sophomore guard Cassidy Geddes and a successful layup and free throw from senior guard Bella Nascimento.
Nascimento was an offensive weapon all game, finishing the night with 23 points on 22 shot attempts. The guard, who racked up 20 or more points in two of her previous three outings, showed no sign of slowing down against Drexel, scoring five of the Tribe’s 14 first-quarter points.
After graduate forward Rebekah Frisby-Smith made a deep three-pointer with 49 seconds left in the opening quarter, William and Mary extended its lead to 14-10, an advantage it preserved until halftime. Sophomore center Jana Sallman opened the scoring for the Green and Gold after the break, knocking down a contested jumper in the paint. Two minutes later, Geddes converted on another layup, extending the Tribe’s lead to 18-11.
The Dragons responded with five unanswered points, but a layup from junior forward Kayla Rolph and two free throws from Geddes kept William and Mary in front. The hosts continued to claw back, cutting the Green and Gold lead to two. However, two more timely threes from Frisby-Smith extended the Tribe’s lead back to four heading into the half.
Drexel graduate guard Cara McCormack came out firing after the break, quickly knocking down a jumper and four free throws to keep her team within striking distance. McCormack struck again as the clock ticked down, making a three to tie the game at 38-38 before converting a buzzer-beating and-one to give the Dragons a 41-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a defensive battle. Only eight total baskets were scored in the final ten minutes of regulation, preventing either team from pulling away from the other. Sallman converted on a tough layup with just over two minutes left, giving the Tribe a 48-46 lead, but Drexel immediately responded, knocking down a layup of its own to even the score at 48. Neither team managed to put the ball in the basket in the final one minute, 37 seconds of regulation, and the Tribe entered overtime for the second consecutive game.
The stalemate continued until the final seconds of the extra period. After Nascimento made two jumpers, senior forward Anahi-Lee Cauley finished a layup in the paint, giving the Green and Gold a three-point lead. McCormack drilled a three in response, but Nascimento struck again, scoring her twenty-third point of the game and giving the Tribe a two-point lead with 40 seconds left in the game. After 39 scoreless seconds, Cauley was charged with a late foul, giving Drexel graduate forward Chloe Hodges three free throws to seal the game. Hodges drilled all three, and with no time left on the clock, the Green and Gold found itself one point short, losing 59-58.
The Tribe jumped back into action Sunday, Feb. 16, losing to Delaware (9-14, 6-7 CAA) 82-59 at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del.
The Green and Gold was outmatched by the Blue Hens from the opening whistle. The Tribe found itself in a nine-point deficit by the time the first quarter ended, a deficit it would fail to make up. From the beginning of the second quarter onwards, William and Mary never got within a possession of its opponent. Delaware outscored the visitors 37-25 in the first half and 45-34 in the second half.
The Blue Hens made eight of their 16 three-point attempts while holding the Green and Gold to 1-17 three-point shooting. UD also won the rebounding battle 33-27 and the turnover battle 16-14. Nascimento scored a team-high 22 points, but the only other William and Mary player to break the double-digit point threshold was Geddes, who scored 10 on 1-8 shooting.
Despite the disappointment of Sunday’s game, the Green and Gold will look to turn the corner as it begins a four-game homestead on Friday, Feb. 21, when it hosts North Carolina A&T (14-9, 10-2 CAA) in Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va.
