Friday, Feb. 20, and Sunday, Feb. 22, William and Mary women’s basketball (13-12, 6-8 CAA) lost a pair of games at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va. The Tribe first fell 63-58 to Monmouth (18-8, 11-4 CAA) and closed out the weekend with a 63-61 setback against Drexel (17-8, 10-4 CAA).
The Tribe’s long scoring droughts allowed Drexel to pull off a fourth-quarter comeback, following a double-digit deficit to Monmouth.
Stepping onto the court Friday night, the Tribe hoped to limit Monmouth’s two biggest threats — junior forward Divine Dibula, who leads the Coastal Athletic Association in field goal percentage at nearly 60%, and junior guard Gigi Gamble, the CAA’s third-highest scorer in conference play at 18 points per game.
Tribe head coach Erin Dickerson Davis was clear about her team’s plan for Dibula.
“We wanted to force her to use her left hand, probably around 90% of the shots that she makes are going to her right,” she said.
Dickerson Davis also said she did not want Monmouth to kill the home team from the perimeter, even at the expense of Dibula finding success in the paint.
“We wanted to match twos with twos,” she added.
From the jump, however, Dibula established her dominance in the paint against the Tribe’s frontline. Within the first five minutes of play, Dibula racked up three baskets, and the Hawks continued making a concerted effort to get the ball inside on every possession. Dibula continued firing on all cylinders, and by halftime, she had scored 15 of Monmouth’s 29 points.
Despite Dibula’s impressive first half, the Tribe found itself down by only three points at the buzzer. The score — 29-26 — was largely due to a strong offensive display by the Green and GoldTribe in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Monmouth extended its lead, despite Dibula picking up her third foul and spending an extended period on the bench. The Tribe suddenly found itself in a 12-point deficit at the end of the 30-minute mark, shooting just 23.1% in the quarter compared to the Hawks’ 57.1%.
The source of the Tribe’s struggles at the start of the second half was no mystery to Dickerson Davis.
“I think they came out with physicality, and I think that we didn’t do a great job of responding to that physicality,” Dickerson Davis said. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to beat us, [and] the best way to beat us right now is by being physical.”
Even with a third-quarter performance that decreased the odds of victory, the Tribe launched a last-ditch comeback. After a 9-1 run to start the final quarter, William and Mary narrowed Monmouth’s lead to four.
Once again, Monmouth turned to Dibula, who converted a three-point play to push the Hawks’ lead to six before hitting a pair of free throws. It was Gamble who landed the final blow to the Tribe’s comeback hopes, knocking down a three-pointer with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left to give Monmouth a nine-point lead.
Despite the final disappointment, Dickerson Davis was proud of her team’s effort, especially considering their flu-related absences.
“We could have packed it up and said that we can’t fight with this team,” Dickerson Davis said.
While the Tribe struggled to make shots against Monmouth, they found far more success against Drexel.
Before the matchup, Dickerson Davis identified shot-making as a key factor in unlocking the Dragons’ unique defensive system.
Within the first quarter against the Dragons, the Tribe knocked down three three-pointers, matching its full-game total from Friday night. Junior guard Cassidy Geddes, who only had nine points against Monmouth, nearly matched that total in the first quarter, with eight points and two three-pointers.
Geddes was fully focused on giving a strong performance after her struggles in the previous game.
“I had a lot of family come in, so it was really just wanting to put on a show,” Geddes said.
The Tribe’s defense also performed at a higher level than Friday night. While Drexel entered the game ranked second in the CAA for field goal percentage at 41.2%, the Tribe managed to hold the Dragons to just 33.3% en route to a 32-23 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, the Tribe completely flipped the script from the Monmouth game. The Green and Gold shot 53% from the field and 60% from three, maintaining a strong eight-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Sophomore forward Marley Long scored seven points in the third quarter, continuing her run of strong play after averaging nine points over the previous two games.
Dickerson Davis complimented Long’s performance and journey over the course of this season.
“Her road has been bumpy; it has been less than perfect. She started, she sat, she didn’t play,” Dickerson Davis said. “For her to be able to mentally go through that and still come in ready to go every single day is a testament to her character.”
In the fourth quarter, however, the slick ball movement which led to seven assists on eight made field goals, turned into stagnant offensive play and an over 6-minute scoring drought.
“When the game gets tight or later in the clock, we start to just be stagnant within our offense, instead of just playing the way that we’ve already played,” Dickerson Davis said.
As the Tribe struggled to find an offensive rhythm, Drexel worked its way back, cutting down the home team’s lead to only three with 6 minutes, 38 seconds remaining. A Geddes three-pointer extended the lead back to six at 58-52.
After managing to cut the deficit to one, Drexel took the lead with just 21 seconds left on a put-back layup by freshman guard Bria Watkins.
The end-of-game drama only started there. The Tribe was immediately called for an over-and-back violation, returning the ball to Drexel with a chance to end the game. Senior guard Grace O’Neill hit two free throws for the Dragons, but on the ensuing possession, Geddes was fouled on a three-point attempt. She tied the game once again with her 20th, 21st and 22nd points of the afternoon.
With 11 seconds on the clock, Drexel closed out the game with a layup from junior forward Deja Evans. Geddes’ last-second heave would not fall despite hitting the rim multiple times, handing Drexel the win.
After a tough weekend with two losses against teams near the top of the CAA standings, Dickerson Davis remained positive.
“I believe in this team fully and wholeheartedly, no matter what we’re going through, no matter the adversity that is coming our way,” she said.
The Tribe looks to bounce back Friday, Feb. 27, against No. 1 Charleston (21-4, 13-1 CAA) at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.
