By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
Last weekend, William & Mary went against one of the premier women's teams in the Colonial Athletic Association in Delaware. This weekend, the Tribe's opponent will be Drexel, the No. 2 pick in the CAA's preseason poll.
In order to compete against the elite teams, or anyone for that matter, the Tribe will have to work on finishing. Running a good play on offense means nothing if you don't make the shot. Forcing a miss on the defensive end is irrelevant if you fail to snag the rebound.
"That's what we're working on, finishing on both sides," W&M coach Ed Swanson said. "It's our lack of depth a little bit, but we have to work on playing harder longer. That's hard against a team like Delaware, which is continually beating on you on the offensive glass and running the floor.
"Our backcourt, Sydney (Wagner) and Nyla (Pollard), they have to be on the court 38 minutes for us to be efficient offensively and maintain our energy defensively. Back-to-back (games) aren't really great for us now. The team is working extremely hard on a day-to-day basis and we're in a real tough league."
In Sunday's 77-64 loss at Delaware, which at No. 89 is the Colonial's highest-rated team in the NCAA's NET rankings, the Tribe held the Blue Hens to 38-percent shooting. Yet it gave up offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points.
"Of the 20 possessions we played zone, they only scored on five of them on the initial shot," Swanson said. "But on our defensive glass, we didn't do a good enough job of competing, and we gave up a lot of second shots."
W&M had 14 offensive rebounds, well above its season average. The Tribe converted them into only five points.
Offense remains William & Mary's biggest issue. The Tribe ranks 10th in the conference in scoring (57.2 points a game), ninth in field goal percentage (.361) and eighth in assists (10.9 per game).
Averaging 20.9 points a game, Wagner is accounting for 36.5 percent of her team's offense. No other player in the Colonial is scoring more than 28 percent of her team's points.
Finding a consistent second scorer remains a work in progress. Pollard has showed the most promise by scoring in double figures in three consecutive games before Delaware. She's second to Wagner in shots taken, both from the field and free throw line, but is still averaging in single digits (9.1).
Bre Bellamy, Gabby Rogers and Chaniqwa Gilliam have had their moments. And there's Bailey Eichner, who in Sunday's game set career highs for points (12), free throws made (six) and free throw attempted (seven).
"Bailey showed she can be more aggressive," Swanson said. "We constantly talk about that. But unfortunately, these kids are thrust into a tough situation in terms of having to score when they never had to score before.
"They're working extremely hard. But for us to continue to improve, somebody's going to have to take the reins. It was Nyla against Hofstra, and it was Bailey (Sunday). But we have to become more consistent with secondary scorers."
Drexel swept UNC Wilmington on Jan. 2-3. The Dragons were scheduled to play at Charleston last weekend, but the games were postponed because of a positive COVID-19 case within the Cougars' program. Drexel is 5-1 (2-0 CAA) going into a Wednesday night game across town at La Salle.
The Dragons, who tied for first last season, have finished no worse than third in the Colonial standings since the 2014-15 season. Guard Hannah Nihill is their top scorer at 15 points a game, and forward Keishana Washington is next at 12.4.
Drexel lost head coach Denise Dillon to Villanova in the offseason, but her replacement is longtime assistant Amy Mallon.
"They really believe in their system in terms of how they're going to play," Swanson said. "They don't light the scoreboard up, but they're very efficient on the offensive end. They've got really tough kids who compete on defense. Overall, a very solid program that's had great continuity over the years."
