By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
All along, William & Mary coach Ed Swanson knew he could rely guards Riley Casey and Sydney Wagner. And Friday night, the duo combined for 50 points on 17-of-28 shooting, including 7-of-13 from deep.
Yet they weren't the only contributors in the Tribe's 83-65 win over Northeastern in Kaplan Arena. Kayla Beckwith had a career night, Kate Sramac stuffed the stat sheet, Bre Bellamy owned the boards, and Ruthie Montella brought energy off the bench.
It was W&M's best overall performance of the season to date, and it took a complete effort.
"Riley and Syd will do what they do, but we need more people stepping up," Swanson said. "That's what we're getting the last couple of games.
"Kayla has put together three or four really good games in a row. Kate is looking at the basket a lot more. And Ruthie finds a way to get six or seven points a game and some rebounds and assists. The team is starting to get more complete."
It was W&M's third consecutive win, its longest streak since November.
The Tribe (9-15, 4-9 CAA) shot a season-best 56.6% from the floor and hit 9-of-19 from the 3-point arc. W&M was 14-of-15 from the free throw line and had 20 assists with a manageable 14 turnovers. The 83 points are its most this season against a Division I opponent.
Casey led the way with 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 4-of-6 from deep. She was 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Wagner added 23 points on 9-of-14 accuracy, 3-of-7 from the arc. It was the most points the duo has combined for this season.
Beckwith, a 6-foot-1 sophomore, had 15 points and eight rebounds — both career highs — despite being limited to 25 minutes because of foul trouble. Sramac had six points, seven rebounds, seven assists (tying a career high) and two steals. Bellamy finished with nine rebounds.
In her second game back after missing a month with an injury, Montella had four points and two assists. More important, she made a difference in handling Northeastern's press.
"I think across the board, with every player who went into the game, it was one of our more complete games," Casey said. "That's something we've been talking about since coming back from Christmas break, just taking one step forward from game to game.
"We want to be playing our best basketball come March. I think that's something we're on the road towards."
In her last three games, Beckwith has averaged 11 points on 14-of-16 shooting with 4.7 rebounds.
"When you see the ball go through the hoop a little bit, it's like 'I can do this,'" Swanson said. "I think her confidence has been rising in the last couple of weeks."
The Tribe led by as many as 18 points in the first half and by 44-32 at the break. Northeastern (12-11, 6-7) chipped away, and Katie May's 3-pointer cut W&M's advantage to 51-46 with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter.
But the Tribe scored the final six points of the quarter, including a Casey runner off the glass as time expired. That pushed its lead to 11, at 57-46, going into the fourth.
"That was a huge turn," Casey said. "Normally in the fourth quarter, we start running out of gas. I think taking that momentum from the third quarter into the fourth quarter was huge for us."
The Huskies hung around a while longer, and Asha Parker's basket made it 65-57 with 5:08 remaining. But Casey drained a 3-pointer from straight on, and the Tribe led by double digits the rest of the way.
Swanson gave plenty of credit to a supportive home crowd.
"It gave us great energy, especially in that fourth quarter when typically we start running out of steam," he said. "The crowd really seemed to energize us tonight. Everybody was 'All In' tonight for the Tribe victory."
Next up: The Tribe will host Hofstra (5-15, 2-10), which lost at Elon Friday night, Sunday at 2 p.m. W&M defeated the Pride 56-48 last month Hempstead, N.Y.
