By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
For the game's first 27 minutes, William & Mary stayed within striking distance of the CAA tournament's No. 2 seed. The Tribe was unable to do much on the offense end, but its on-point defense was keeping the game close.
Until, that is, the dam burst.
Leading by three points late in the third quarter, Delaware pulled away for a 61-35 win over W&M in Friday's quarterfinals in Philadelphia. After making 11 of their first 44 shots, the Blue Hens hit 13 of their last 22 and outscored the Tribe 35-12 in the final 13 minutes.
"We knew Delaware was a high-scoring unit and they rebound the ball at a high level," W&M coach Ed Swanson said. "We were really excited at halftime with the score in the 20s. You don't hear a coach say that too often.
"But the game got away from us in the second five minutes of the third quarter. The two things we needed to take care of were the defensive glass and the ball in terms of turnovers. Those two things came back to bite us tonight."
And rabidly at that. Delaware outrebounded the Tribe 54-31, 19-3 on the offensive end. With 19 more field goal attempts, the Blue Hens outscored W&M 16-3 on second-chance points — 10-0 in the second half.
The Tribe turned the ball over 21 times, 13 coming in the second half. Several were of the live-ball variety, which led to quick baskets on the other end.
Guard Riley Casey, who finished with 15 points, was the only W&M player who made more than three baskets. The Tribe shot 25.5% from the floor, 3-of-16 from the 3-point arc. W&M was 3-of-14 on layups, a key factor being the Blue Hens' length inside.
"They're definitely an athletic team with some good shot blockers inside," Casey said. "As long as we moved the ball and attacked the paint, that's when we saw success.
"In the second half, we got stagnant. We took a long time to get it across the court and we only had 15 seconds to run our offense."
Delaware, which came in averaging 74.4 points a game, led 26-23 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Blue Hens took over from there. Jasmine Dickey, the nation's third-leading scorer and two-time CAA Player of the Year, made six of her final seven shots to finish with 29 points along with 10 rebounds and six steals.
"She's player of the year for a reason," Casey said.
Dickey and Ty Battle accounted for 45 of Delaware's 61 points. They were a combined 18-of-31 from the floor; their teammates were 6-of-35.
The Tribe finished with a 10-20 record, but there were obstacles. Emma Krause, a 6-foot-2 center who was expected to be part of the rotation, missed the season with an injury. Guard Chaniqwa Gilliam missed the final 22 games with an injury.
Casey sat out five games before conference play with an ankle issue. Freshman Ruthie Montella missed nine CAA games with a leg injury. And Sydney Wagner missed two games due to health and safety protocol.
"We didn't have the results we wanted this year, but this team never hung their head," Swanson said. "I'm super proud of them for the effort they brought on a daily basis."
Of the 13 players who saw floor time this season, only Kate Sramac was a senior. Casey and Wagner, who accounted for 51% of the team's scoring this season, are both returning. Five players who averaged at least 13 minutes a game also are expected back.
"I'm excited," Casey said. "And I think everyone is."
