After building an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, William & Mary's short-handed lineup held off a late Hofstra charge for a 56-48 win Friday night on Long Island. 

Riley Casey scored 17 of her 20 points in the first half, and Sydney Wagner had an outstanding floor game as the Tribe (6-9, 1-3) broke through in the CAA's win column. W&M had 18 assists on 21 baskets and held on despite scoring only two points in the final six minutes. 

"I thought for three quarters, we moved the ball and guarded hard," Tribe coach Ed Swanson said. "But Sydney Wagner, Riley Casey and Kate Sramac played 37 minutes plus. Bre (Bellamy) would have played more if she didn't get in foul trouble. 

"The fourth quarter, I think we got fatigued mentally and physically. That's something we're going to have to deal with." 

Casey and Wagner each played the entire 40 minutes, and Sramac logged 37. The Tribe was missing Ruthie Montella, its top guard off the bench, with an injury. Swanson said she is expected to miss two weeks. 

Wagner finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Bellamy had 10 points and six rebounds. Sramac had a team-high seven assists along with six rebounds. 

The Tribe shot 39% from the field and was 8-of-23 from the 3-point arc, 6-of-13 in the first half. 

"I thought we moved and shared the ball well," Swanson said. "That's how we have to play. Then we got away from ourselves at times, and fatigue got the better of us. 

"We still have to put that together for a full game. I think we're capable of doing that." 

W&M faced a clear size disadvantage with Hofstra starting two 6-foot-3 forwards. Still, the Tribe was only minus-2 in rebounding margin and outscored 11-7 on second-chance points. 

The Tribe finished with 20 turnovers, nine coming in the fourth quarter. 

The game turned in the final five minutes of the second quarter, at which point Hofstra led 20-13. Starting with a layup by Rebekah Frisby-Smith, the Tribe closed the first half with a 21-2 run during which it went 7-of-9 from the floor, 5-of-6 from the 3-point arc. 

A key moment came with the Tribe trailing 20-15. Bellamy missed a shot in the lane, but Sramac got the rebound. She kicked it out to Casey, her former Ivy League rival, for an open 3-pointer that cut the lead to 20-18. 

Casey had 10 of her 20 points in that stretch, which included a 4-point play after knocking down a deep jumper. Wagner and Sramac also hit a 3-pointer, the latter's coming to beat the buzzer and give W&M a 34-22 at halftime. 

"We had a great finish there," Swanson said. "Our defense really ignited a lot of that, which I was happy to see." 

The Tribe took its biggest lead on two Bellamy free throws, which made it 52-34 with 7:24 remaining in the game. Hofstra scored 14 of the game's final 16 points. 

"Obviously, the win and winning on the road is critical for our confidence," Swanson said. "Winning is hard. I don't think people understand how hard it is to win a college basketball game.  

"We had to do the hard stuff today to get that win, and we'll have to do that again Sunday (at Northeastern). I've always said like the toughness of this team and the perseverance, and we've just to get ready for Sunday." 

Northeastern is 9-6, 3-2 in the conference, after Friday night's 68-52 win over Elon.