By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
Although it led virtually wire to wire, William & Mary couldn't find its offensive rhythm for the first 25 minutes. That changed with a dominant run that finally put Hampton University away for a 58-41 win at Kaplan Arena.
In a 5½-minute stretch Monday night that overlapped the third and fourth quarters, the Tribe scored on seven of 12 possessions and outscored the Pirates 15-0. Freshmen Ava Stevenson and Dani McTeer combined for 13 of those points.
And just like that, W&M's lead stretched from 31-27 with 3:22 left in the third quarter to 46-27 with 7:47 remaining in the fourth.
"That's what we have to be more consistent at," Tribe coach Ed Swanson said. "We get away from what we're drilling on a daily basis sometimes, but that's basketball. You get caught up in the situations a little bit.
"But in that third quarter and fourth quarter, when shots start going in, everybody looks good. … I always say you have to have the first run of the game, the last run of the game, and the longest one. I thought we did that today."
Guard Sydney Wagner finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Forward Bre Bellamy finished with 10 points (5-of-9) along with nine rebounds.
Swanson was particularly happy with Stevenson and classmate Ruthie Montella, who made her first career start in place of the Riley Casey (injury). Stevenson finished with a career-high 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes off the bench. Montella had six assists, also a career high, in 29 minutes.
"She had an injury early in the preseason that I thought set her back a little bit," Swanson said of Stevenson. "But she's somebody who wants to score the ball, and she can score the ball. … I had a feeling coming into this game we were going to need some quality minutes from her.
"(Montella's) assist-to-turnover ratio is the best on our team, and that's really kind of unique for a freshman. She has a really good feel for the game. With one of our top players out, Ruthie stepping up was needed tonight.
Playing against her hometown school, McTeer had eight points and four rebounds.
William & Mary finished with a season-high 25 turnovers. But it also shot 44 percent, its highest against a Division I team this season.
"Hampton is a real tough team to play against defensively," Swanson said. "They're always well drilled and physical. We talked about in the days leading up to this that we had to be up to the challenge to meet them physically. I thought we did that at times."
In her most recent game, Wagner was 3-of-15 from the floor in a win at Maryland Eastern Shore. Monday night, she went 5-of-13, 3-of-8 from deep. With Casey out, Wagner was playing almost exclusively at the point.
"I've been watching her in practice, and I think she's been shooting the ball better," Swanson said. "I think she's a different scorer from the point to the wing. But even a couple of shots she missed, I thought they looked good and were going in."
NEXT UP: The Tribe plays at Virginia (1-6) Thursday night. W&M is 1-11 against the Cavaliers with its only win coming in December of 1973.
