WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's basketball team looks to get back in the win column as it travels to Elon for its lone game of the weekend on Friday, Jan. 31. Tip time between the Tribe and Phoenix is set for 7 p.m.Â
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- W&M and Elon meet for the 17th time in series history on Friday night. The Phoenix lead the all-time series 10-6, but the Tribe won both meetings a season ago, including a 64-59 victory in its first visit to Schar Center last year. A season ago, redshirt junior Harper Birdsong averaged 13.0 points per game, while senior Victoria Reynolds 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.Â
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- The Tribe picked up its seventh road win of the season on its last road trip at Hofstra on Friday, Jan. 17. The victory pulled the Green and Gold within one of the school record for road wins. The 1978-89, 2006-07, and 2016-17 squads each won eight road games. Those three teams combined to average 18.3 wins, including a school-record tying 20 wins by the 2016-17 team.Â
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- Starting in February, the William & Mary women's basketball team will be participating in the Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge with all of their CAA conference mates. Fans can make a donation or a one-time pledge for each Tribe free throw over the month of February. More info is available on TribeAthletics.com.
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- The Tribe has gone a perfect 10-0 this season when it has limited its opponents to less than 60 points a game. W&M has gone 8-0 in games when its opposition has scored 50-59 and is 2-0 when it holds teams under 50.
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- Another key to the Tribe's success this season is getting three players in double-figures. W&M has posted a perfect 9-0 mark when three players reach the double-figure plateau, including its last win against Delaware.
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- Sophomore Eva Hodgson is starting to climb up the single-season 20-point performance chart. Her eight 20-point games rank her tied for ninth in school history. Hodgson and senior Victoria Reynolds have scored 20 points in the same game three times already this season, which previously had not happened in a season and a half.Â
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- For the ninth time in under head coach Ed Swanson W&M shot better than 55% in a contest when it shot 58% against Charleston. The Tribe's 58.3% field goal percentage at VCU, the season-high, ranks tied for seventh under Swanson and is the seventh-best in school history. For the season, the Tribe is shooting 44.4%, which is tops in the CAA and ranks 38th nationally.
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- Following her CAA Rookie of the Year honor last season, sophomore Eva Hodgson has picked up where she left off and has been the Tribe's leading scorer in all but three games. After scoring the most points in the Division I era in a season opener (27), Hodgson reset her career-high with 29 points at Richmond. She is averaging 19.3 points per game, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. She leads the conference with 19.3 points per game (26th in the NCAA), 55.2% from the field (32nd in the NCAA), 43.2% from 3-point range (24th in the NCAA), and 92.3% (fourth in the NCAA). The sophomore has been in double-figures in 20 straight games, which is the longest streak in Division I school history, dating back to last year and has eight 20-point performances this year, including five of the last eight games.
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- Senior Victoria Reynolds has been turning it on since the George Washington game. She has been in double-figures in the eight of the last nine contests and is averaging 16.9 points per game during that stretch and has two double-doubles as well. A Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention selection, Reynolds is second on the team averaging 14.9 points per game (eighth in the CAA) and leads the team with 6.6 rebounds a night. She has been in double-figures in 53 career games and has scored 1,073 career points.Â
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- Junior Bailey Eichner has enjoyed her enhanced role during her junior campaign and earned back-to-back starts last weekend. Earlier this season, she scored a career-high 11 points in the win at East Carolina, before adding a career-high nine rebounds at George Washington. The Cudahy, Wisc. is averaging 3.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game. More impressively, Eichner is averaging 12.6 rebounds per 40 minute game.Â
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- W&M head coach Ed Swanson became the 69th head coach in Division I history to win his 500th career game against Hartford on Nov. 23. Now at 508 wins, Swanson ranks as the 33rd active head coach in the country in terms of wins. With 102 wins as head coach of the Tribe, he is third all-time and is 45 away from all-time wins leader Debbie Taylor.
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