By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
With overtime set to begin, William & Mary knew it had let a 10-point lead get away in the final seven and a half minutes of regulation. The Tribe didn't dwell on that long.
W&M regained the lead 45 seconds into the extra session and never gave it up in a 66-61 win over VCU Friday night in the Siegel Center. The Tribe began the OT with a 10-4 run and closed it out by going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 17.8 seconds.
It's only the second week of November, but beating the Rams on the road is huge for a program under a first-year coach trying to redirect after a 10-win season.
"I wanted the girls to know they could do it," Tribe coach
Erin Dickerson Davis said. "We were resilient today. Our girls know what it feels like to be up, to go down, to come back, and to win in overtime.
"They've experienced that, and if it happens again, we know how to adjust and do what we need to do. It was so important for our team morale, and I hope we can really build on that moving forward."
Riley Casey led the Tribe with 25 points, which included a runner with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Sydney Wagner added 16 points, all coming after halftime. And stepping up big time was sophomore
Madison Magee, who finished with 11 points in 28 minutes — both career highs.
It was Magee who, aside from Casey's basket at the end of regulation, had the shot of the night. After VCU took a 54-52 lead on its first possession of overtime, Casey drove to the basket and was double teamed. Casey then flipped the ball to Magee, whose defender had sagged off, behind the arc on the right wing.
Magee is a 6-foot-1 center who had never even attempted a 3-pointer in her 17-game college career. But she took Casey's pass in stride and knocked it down to put her team ahead for good at 55-54 with 4:15 remaining.
"I was surprised she put it up but not because she can't shoot it," Davis said. "But because she hasn't. She's been in the gym non-stop with Coach Dane (Sparrow) working on those shots.
"Maddie has an amazing shot. She just has to grow confident in it."
Sparked by Magee's 3-pointer, William & Mary took a 62-56 lead on a Wagner three with 1:10 remaining in OT. VCU got a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to cut the Tribe's advantage to 62-61 with 18 seconds remaining.
Casey, a career 80% shooter from the free throw line, went 2-for-2 to push the lead back to three. VCU's Sarah Te-Biasu missed a 3-point try for the tie, and Wagner put it away with a pair of free throws.
Magee, whose added minutes came because
Kayla Beckwith was out with an ankle injury, scored five of her 11 points in the overtime.
"She's been practicing really hard and trying to get better," Davis said. "She's learning to play at her pace and that's taken some time. I'm not surprised she came out and scored 11 points in her minutes because I've seen her do that in practice."
Statistically, W&M had the advantage in practically every category. The Tribe shot 42% to VCU's 40% and was 7-of-24 from the 3-point arc to the Rams' 5-of-20. W&M had fewer turnovers (15 to 18) and was only minus-4 (31-35) on the boards.
That latter number was critical. VCU outrebounded Lafayette 44-20 in Monday night's opener.
"Going into every single game, we talk about how if we can rebound the ball and take care of the ball, we can be in any game," Davis said. "If we can rebound and take care of the ball, we're giving ourselves a fighting chance."
W&M's next game is Tuesday night at Old Dominion.
