WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary women's basketball opens a 5-game home stand on Sunday afternoon, hosting Army in a nonconference matchup. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. at Kaplan Arena. The game will be broadcast on FloHoops with Andrew Phillips and Jason Simms on the call.
W&M is a perfect 1-0 in the 'Burg this season after defeating Navy 79-64 in the opener. Fans should also make sure to bring a canned food to the game in order to receive a voucher for a free ticket to a future game this year. All collected goods will benefit the Williamsburg House of Mercy.
Stay up to date with all things Tribe women's hoops on social media! Fans can follow along with the team throughout the season by checking out the Green and Gold on
Twitter (@WMTribeWBB),
Facebook (WMTribeWBB), and
Instagram (WMTribeWBB).
W&M News and Notes
- W&M hosts Army at Kaplan Arena for the second time in program history and the first in over two decades. Sunday afternoon's game also marks the fifth time the two teams have squared off, most recently in West Point in 2019. The Tribe came away with a 77-65 victory in that matchup, with three current players seeing game action. Bre Bellamy finished with seven points, three rebounds, and three steals, while Sydney Wagner added 15 points off the bench.
- Despite back-to-back losses, the Tribe defense ranks among the best in the CAA. Through the first four games of the year, W&M is allowing just over 63 points from its nonconference opponents while averaging 8.25 steals each time the team steps on the hardwood. The Green and Gold also boast the fourth-best turnover margin (6.00) in the CAA, and the 82 turnovers W&M has forced are among the top 6 in the conference.
- The Tribe proved to be a team of late-game fighters in last week's 71-61 loss at George Mason. W&M outscored the Patriots 42-33 in the second half on 40% shooting, going 14-of-17 from the free throw line, and recording only four turnovers. In fact, the Green and Gold didn't turn the ball over during the fourth quarter.
- Graduate students Sydney Wagner and Riley Casey, both preseason All-CAA First-Team honorees, have been a consistent backcourt presence for the Tribe all season. The tandem sits top 2 in the CAA in minutes played (Casey 36; Wagner: 35.5) and ranks among the conference leaders in 3-pt field goals per game (Casey: 3; Wagner: 2.8).
- Wagner has been seeing double this season. Her 18 points at George Mason marked the tenth time in her previous 11 games that she reached double-digit scoring, dating back to last season. During that stretch, she's averaged 17 points while also going a near-perfect 38-of-41 from the line. And, in all four games this season, Wagner has notched multi-steal performances.
- It's been a second-half surge for Casey so far this year. She scored 26 of her game-high 31 points in the final 20 minutes of last week's loss at George Mason. The performance was Casey's best in her 29 games with the Tribe and matched a career-high for the former Columbia standout, who hit that scoring mark as a sophomore against Hampton University. Casey also scored all of her team-best 20 in the second half against Navy to open the season. In four games, she's shooting a blistering 47.5% from the field and draining half of her shots from behind the arc.
- Sophomore forward Madison Magee is enjoying perhaps her best stretch with the Green and Gold. Her 11 points at VCU (11/11/22) were a personal best and included her first 3-pointer, which gave W&M a lead 45 seconds into OT. She followed it up with a 10-point, 5-rebound, 3-assist showing at Old Dominion (11/15/22) and then hauled in a career-high seven rebounds in 31 minutes of work at George Mason (11/21/22).
- After playing in six games before suffering a 21-22 season-ending injury, senior guard Chaniqwa Gilliam is averaging 18.0 minutes per game this year. In W&M's season-opening win over Navy (11/7/22), she packed the stat sheet with eight points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
- The Tribe rank among the CAA leaders in several 3-point shooting categories. W&M is fourth in 3-pt field goals per game (6.5), fifth in 3-point field goals attempted (86), and sixth in 3-point field goals made (26). Of course, the Green and Gold have long built a reputation as a deep-scoring threat. Last season, the squad led the CAA in 3-point percentage (.323) and wrapped up the year third in conference in 3-pointers made per game (6.2).
- The Tribe start a brand-new era under the leadership of head coach Erin Dickerson Davis this season. Davis was named the sixth Division I head coach in W&M history on Apr. 12, 2022. She takes the helm after serving as Associate Head Coach at Wake Forest University where she helped lead the Demon Deacons to a pair of postseason appearances, highlighted by the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in 30 seasons.
- The Green and Gold will not leave the state of Virginia during the nonconference slate, playing six home games in Kaplan Arena and another five contests on the road against Commonwealth rivals (VCU, Old Dominion, George Mason, Longwood, Norfolk State). The Tribe's 11 nonconference foes averaged 15 wins a season ago, and seven boasted winning records.
- The Tribe was picked seventh in the CAA preseason standings by vote of the league coaches. Drexel was the preseason pick to win the league with 10 first-place votes.
