W&M News and Notes
- William & Mary kicks off its 102nd season on the road at Coppin State University. This will be the first time the two teams will meet up. The Tribe has won its last three openers on the road in 2016 (at Mount St. Mary's), 2018 (at Howard), and 2019 (at Army). Over the years, the Tribe has amassed 696 wins, 116 under head coach
Ed Swanson.
- As a team, the Tribe was picked eighth in the preseason standings by vote of the league coaches. Last season, W&M was picked eighth in the preseason before opting due to COVID for the remainder of the 2020-21 season on Feb. 12 after completing 13 games (6-7, 3-5 CAA).
- William & Mary ranked second in the CAA in scoring defense (61.3 ppg), while leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (23.1%).
- The Tribe returns two starters from last season, while they added six newcomers.
- This is our fifth straight year on the road and the Tribe is 2-2 the last four road openers.
- Scoring machine
Sydney Wagner will look to rise up the Tribe record books with another stellar campaign this season. Wagner currently ranks sixth in school history averaging 12.7 points per game and is 290 points from joining the 1,000 clubs. With 97 made three-pointers at W&M, Wagner is just three shy of reaching the 100 mark.
- Wagner led the Tribe and was in the top ten nationally, playing 38.3 minutes per game last season. Over two seasons in Williamsburg, the guard has amassed 1,122 minutes played.
Bre Bellamy has also reached the 1,000 mark, playing 1,016 minutes in the Green and Gold.
- Transfer guard
Riley Casey spent her first three collegiate seasons playing for Columbia, before joining the Tribe for graduate school. During her time in New York, Casey played 1750 minutes and scored 644 points. The Tennessee native averaged over 10.5 points per game over 61 contests.
- Transfer
Kate Sramac stuffed the stat sheet over three seasons with Cornell before coming to Williamsburg. While in Ithaca, Sramac recorded 747 minutes and scored 176 points. Sramac added 98 rebounds, 67 assists, and 48 steals with the Big Red.
- Last season, a fast start was pivotal to success for the Tribe. Coach Swanson's team was 6-1 in games in which they led at halftime. Conversely, the team was winless in games in which they trailed at the break.
- W&M head coach
Ed Swanson enjoyed a noteworthy 2019-20 season individually. He was named the CAA Co-Coach of the Year following the Tribe's historic season. Swanson won his 500th career game on Nov. 26, became just the third coach in W&M history to win 100 games with the Tribe on Jan. 12, and was inducted into the Northeast Conference Hall of Fame in January.
