- Dragon slayers! The Tribe staged one of its biggest victories of the year on Sunday afternoon, defeating Drexel 74-58 at Kaplan Arena. It was the Dragons' first CAA loss and snapped an eight-game win streak for the preseason conference favorite. As she's done all year, graduate student Riley Casey led the charge with her fourth 31-point effort of the season and second straight home game with seven 3-point field goals. The defense also stole a bit of spotlight—quite literally. W&M racked up 11 steals, forced 17 turnovers, and scored 27 fast break points.
- There's no place like home for the Green and Gold. Five of the Tribe's seven 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 from behind the arc, one of the most accurate shooting performances among CAA teams this season.
- Casey continues to add her name to William & Mary women's basketball lore this season. Her 31 points against Drexel (1/15/23) marked the first time in program history a player has scored 30-plus four times in a single season. Her seven 3-pointers against the Dragons and Charleston (1/8/23) also match a career-high and Kaplan Arena record. Additionally, 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 connected on 6-of-9 shots from distance, matching the third-best single-game 3-point shooting performance by a W&M player.
- In its first season as part of the CAA, Hampton is quickly building a reputation for staunch defensive play. The Pirates are tied for second in the conference in points allowed per game, giving up just 61.1 over their first 15 contents. And they sit first in both turnover margin (8.60) and steals (11.33). On Sunday, the squad snapped a two-game skid with a 38-34 home victory over UNC Wilmington.
- We're walking the line this season. Free throw line that is. W&M currently leads the CAA in free throw percentage (.770), while grad student Sydney Wagner is second (.887) among all players in the conference. Against the rest of the country, the Tribe ranks in the top-35. The Green and Gold was 15-of-16 from the charity stripe against Drexel, with four players shooting a perfect 100%.
- Big players make big plays and... play big-time minutes. In Sunday's win over Drexel, three players saw over 30 minutes of action, while a total of six players logged at least 24 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: 33.9, Wagner: 33.0).
- 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: 17.8, Wagner: 14.4) and 3-point field goals per game (Casey: 3.0, Wagner: 2.1). They're also the only two W&M players to start all 16 games. Plus, nationally, Casey is 23rd in 3-point percentage (.436), 21st in total 3-point field goals (48), and 10th in 3-point field goals per game.
- She comes from a land down under! And she's regularly packing her stat sheet. Australia native Frisby-Smith has had a breakout winter, setting career highs in 10 different categories. Against Charleston (1/8/23), she drained a trio of triples to finish with a personal best 11 points and, more recently against Drexel, racked up nine points, six rebounds, three steals, and a career-high four assists.
-The kids are alright. Freshmen Alexa Mikeska and Kayla Rolph have both made their presence known throughout the season while racking up minutes and stats. Mikeska dished out a career-high five assists, blocked two shots, and sank a pair of treys against Charleston (1/8/23) before playing a season-high 33 minutes against Drexel (1/15/23). Meanwhile, Rolph set four personal bests vs. Coppin State (12/4/22) and hit double digits with 10 at Longwood (12/18/22).
- 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 13 times and notched six multi-steal games.
