By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Three minutes into the third quarter, William & Mary led first-place Drexel by 18 points. Taking on a team that hadn't yet lost in CAA play, no one in a Tribe uniform expected things to be particularly easy. And, for a stretch, it wasn't as the Dragons put together an intense run to make it a five-point game late in the period.

But then—the Green and Gold found its game once more. The defense rose again, the offense regained its rhythm, and W&M pulled away down the stretch for a 74-58 win Sunday afternoon at Kaplan Arena.

Riley Casey scored 31 points for the fourth time this season, and Sydney Wagner added 19 as the Tribe (7-9 2-3 CAA) posted its most significant win of the season. Against the Colonial's highest-rated team in the NCAA's NET rankings, W&M never trailed and led by double digits for the final 4:43.

"Before the game started, (forward) Rebekah Frisby-Smith said, 'Let's go, Dragon slayers!," Tribe coach Erin Dickerson Davis said. "We just kind of used that as our motto. Super proud of our fight and resilience.

"We had a hard third quarter. We didn't score the ball very well, but we didn't let that impact what we did in the fourth. I could not be happier or more proud of this team."

Although it shot 53% from the floor in the first half, W&M won this game on the defensive end. Drexel guard Keishana Washington matched her conference-leading scoring average with 27 points, but she needed 31 shots to get it. Washington finished with more turnovers (five) than 3-pointers (two).

"We talked about doing box-and-one or a triangle-and-two," Davis said. "When it came down to it, we knew she was going to score points. We wanted to make those baskets as hard as we possibly could. She worked for every single shot that she got."

Drexel (13-4, 5-1) shot 36.5% from the floor, 4-of-21 from behind the 3-point arc, and had 17 turnovers. The Tribe finished with 11 steals, three each by Casey and Frisby-Smith.

W&M led 46-28 with 7:20 remaining in the third quarter when Drexel made its run. Over the next six-and-a-half minutes, the Dragons outscored the Tribe 15-2. W&M's lead was cut to 48-43, but Casey hit a late 3-pointer to make it 51-43 going into the fourth.

"We knew they were going to go on a run, so we focused on withstanding that run and stopping the bleeding," Casey said. "It was really just keeping the pieces together and bringing the energy back up. A lot of our energy plays come from Bek and Alexa (Mikeska), so that was a key for us."

Again, Drexel came back, and a Washington 3-pointer made it 57-51 with 6:19 remaining. But William & Mary regained control with a 9-0 run in which Casey had a 3-pointer and a steal that led to an and-one by Wagner.

"We've talked the whole season how the defense (is) going to have to spark our offense, and I think we're finally buying into that," Davis said. "Syd making that and-one gave us the energy we needed.

"During the third quarter, we were still up 12 and our energy was so low. But when we got that steal and and-one, you immediately saw their energy spark back up."

The Tribe outscored Drexel 27-7 on fast-break points.

Frisby-Smith, who Davis called the team's "X-factor," had a typical game for her with nine points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Mikeska likewise filled different categories with six points, five rebounds, and two assists.

The Tribe's next game will be Thursday night at home against Hampton University (5-9, 2-2). The Pirates defeated UNC Wilmington 38-34 Sunday afternoon.