WILMINGTON, N.C. – The William & Mary women's basketball team earned a thrilling 65-63 victory at UNCW on Sunday afternoon.
Riley Casey scored seven points – including a pair of and-ones – in the final 48 seconds to help lift the Tribe to victory.
Casey's first 3-point play knotted the score at 61-61, while her second gave W&M the lead for good, 64-63, with 26 seconds remaining.
Kate Sramac drew a charge on the ensuing possession and Casey connected on 1-of-2 free throws before UNCW's Allie Best missed a jumper at the buzzer, as the Tribe secured the road conference win.
"The kids were really excited about the game, and we really needed it," W&M Head Coach
Ed Swanson said. "The last five weeks, we've been playing I think really good basketball but we haven't done enough to get over the hump.
"We made some great plays down the stretch (with)
Riley Casey taking two sideline inbounds plays and getting us five points. Then
Kate Sramac made a big play taking a charge down the stretch. Overall, a great team effort. It's a good win after a demoralizing loss the other day."
After a tightly contested opening half, W&M began the third quarter with a 13-3 run to build a 40-25 advantage. The Seahawks gradually chipped away at the margin and took their first lead of the half on a 3-pointer by Allie Best with 2:56 on the clock and led by as many as three before Casey's late-game heroics.
Tribe Standouts
Casey led the Tribe with 16 points to go with six assists and a pair of steals.
Dani McTeer (13 points, 5-5 FG) and
Sydney Wagner (11 points) also finished in double digits scoring, while
Bre Bellamy added eight points, eight assists, seven rebounds, a block and a steal.
Sramac chipped in nine points with five rebounds and four assists, while
Kayla Beckwith posted eight points on 4-of-5 shooting with four rebounds.
Inside the Numbers
W&M shot a season-best 54.5 percent (24-44) from the field recorded 21 assists, marking the Tribe's second-highest total this season.
W&M owned a 27-25 edge on the boards and held the Seahawks to just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Opposition
Carrie Gross led UNCW with 17 points, while Micah Hoggatt (15) and Sierra Dacosta (11 points) also contributed offensively.
Up Next
W&M will return to action when it hosts UNCW at Kaplan Arena on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
