By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Erin Dickerson Davis' introduction to Colonial Athletic Association basketball will involve three of the nation's busiest airports and bus rides across the Northeast, where conditions tend to be dicey this time of year. The opponent will be no picnic, either.

Stony Brook has won 77% of its games since 2018-19 and was picked third in the CAA's preseason poll. A major challenge, to be sure. But Davis, in her first year as the Tribe's head coach, welcomes it.

"All year, we've been talking about how tough the conference is," she said. "Every single night, it's going to be a dogfight for us. I'm actually glad we're starting out this way. I think it sets the tone for what the CAA will look like.

"Stony Brook was top three in the conference preseason and they have a history of winning. There's no better way to kick off the conference season."

Stony Brook (6-5), a member of the America East from 2001-22, is one of four newcomers to the CAA this season.

The Tribe will get there by flying from Norfolk to JFK and busing to Long Island, where it will play Stony Brook Friday at 6:30 p.m. Following the final buzzer, just ahead of New Year's Eve, the team will board that same bus for a four-hour drive to Boston. On Sunday, New Year's Day, W&M will go against Northeastern at 2 p.m.

Then, the team will fly from Logan International to Dulles and bus the rest of the way home.

After playing its entire non-conference schedule without a full roster, William & Mary (5-6) is getting healthier. Davis said guard Ruthie Montella, who has yet to play this season, and forward Kayla Beckwith, who has been out since Nov. 15, have resumed practice.

Davis said they could see "some very, very limited minutes" in the road trip but are expected to play more the following weekend.

Forward Dani McTeer, a starter last year as a freshman, remains injured and is not expected to play this season, Davis said.

With Beckwith and McTeer missing in the post, W&M has received significant contributions from junior Caitlin Wingertzahn and sophomore Madison Magee.

After playing only five games in her first two seasons, Wingertzahn is averaging 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and a team-leading 1.1 blocked shots a game. In consecutive games against James Madison and Longwood, she had a combined 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting and 15 rebounds.

Magee is averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. She scored a career-high 11 points, five coming in overtime, in a win at VCU.

"The more minutes they play, you just see how much they are growing," Davis said. "It's incredible to watch. The more they grow, the more impactful they've been for our team. And we really need them."

Also stepping up has been junior Rebekah Frisby-Smith, who averaged 1.6 points and rebounds a game in her first two seasons. She's improved that to 4.3 points and 5.5 boards a game and is third on the team in minutes played at 27.3 per game.

Highlights of the non-conference schedule included wins over Navy (79-64), VCU (66-61) and Longwood (67-57). The latter was noteworthy because the Tribe was missing five players with either injuries or the flu.

"I think we did some really great things in non-conference," Davis said. "Now, it's time to shift gears."

Both offensively and defensively, there is plenty of room to grow. None is bigger than rebounding, where W&M is 328^th out of 350 teams nationally in rebounding margin at minus-8.7.

"We have to get better at everything," Davis said. "We have to get better defensively and in our offensive execution, but all of that will come."