- Despite jumping out to an early-game lead, W&M fell on the road at Towson on Friday evening. Graduate students Sydney Wagner and Riley Casey led the Tribe in scoring with 11 and nine points each. Although the final score wasn't ideal, there were still a handful of bright spots—every player who dressed for the game recorded minutes, and sophomore Ruthie Montella (who was sidelined for the entire non-conference slate) notched her first points of the season, going 2-2 from the line.
- There's no place like home this season for the Green and Gold. Four of the Tribe's six wins have come at Kaplan Arena, including an 81-67 victory over Charleston on Jan. 8 that saw W&M drain a home court-record (and CAA single-game-best) 14 3-pointers. It was the second time the squad has crested 80 points in Williamsburg after defeating Coppin State 84-81 in OT on Dec. 4. In that game, W&M connected on 56% of its shots behind the arc, one of the most accurate shooting performances among CAA teams this season.
- This afternoon's tilt will pit two of the country's strongest scorers in a big-time backcourt battle. Coming into the weekend, Casey and Drexel grad student Keishana Washington sit top two among CAA players in scoring and rank among the best shooters in the nation. Casey is currently 33rd in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (.427) and leads the conference in the same category. Last week, Washington, CAA Preseason Player of the Year, was one of 21 players named to the watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year Award.
- Casey continues to add her name to William & Mary women's basketball lore this season. Her 31 points against Charleston (1/8/23) marked the first time in program history a player has scored 30-plus three times in a single season. And earlier this year, she became the second W&M player to record back-to-back 30-plus scoring performances. She did so against George Mason and Army, shooting 53.8% from the field over the two games. Against the Black Knights, she also connected on 6-of-9 shots from behind the arc, matching the third-best single-game 3-point shooting performance by a W&M player.
- Fresh off Friday's victory at Hampton, Drexel arrives in the 'Burg riding an 8-game win streak. The Dragons, who were picked first in the CAA preseason standings, haven't lost since Dec. 11, when they dropped an OT tilt at Yale. Last year, the squad recorded one of its most successful performances with a program-tying 28 wins, advancing to the third round of the WNIT.
- Big players make big plays and... play big-time minutes. In the CAA home opener, five W&M players saw over 20 minutes of action, while a total of eight logged at least 12 minutes. This season, five Tribe athletes have posted career highs in minutes, including junior Rebekah Frisby-Smith, who has topped her personal mark four times. Plus, the backcourt duo of Casey and Wagner ranks in the CAA top-10 in minutes per game (Casey: 33.7, Wagner: 32.9).
- Wagner and Casey are making good use of all those minutes. The preseason All-CAA First-Team tandem sits top-10 in the CAA in points (Casey: 16.9, Wagner: 14.1) and 3-point field goals per game (Casey: 2.7, Wagner: 2.2). They're also the only two W&M players to start all 15 games.
- Welcome to the block party! Junior Caitlin Wingertzahn ranks among the top-10 CAA players in blocks per game this year, recording 1.1. It's been a strong winter for the Rumson, N.J. native, who currently leads the Tribe in shooting percentage (.486) and has set career highs in 12 different categories this year.
- The win at Longwood marked multiple career performances for multiple players. Freshman Kayla Rolph posted a personal-best 10 points in 32 minutes off the bench. Frisby-Smith's 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass, were the most she's ever hauled in, while Casey matched a career-high six assists. Wingertzahn also pulled in eight rebounds to set a new individual mark.
- Wagner has recorded several big-time career scoring marks this year. At Longwood (12/18/22), she posted her 20th career 20-point game, the third time she scored 20 or more this season. At Stony Brook, she recorded her 55th career double-digit scoring performance. Wagner has also dished out two or more assists 12 times and notched five multi-steal games.
- W&M is second in conference in free throw percentage (.759), is third in 3-pointers made (6.9) per game, and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.315)
