- Season's best! Sunday's 80-74 OT victory at Charleston marked the Tribe's third consecutive win, the longest stretch of the year. As they've done throughout the season, graduate students Riley Casey and Sydney Wagner led the charge, combining to score all 16 of W&M's points in the extra frame. It marked the first time the duo has crested the 20-point mark in a single game (Casey: 26, Wagner: 20), but the 11th time they've both scored in double-digits. And when they do? It usually means a W for the Green and Gold. In those 11 games, the Tribe is 8-3.
- There's no place like home. The Tribe has won three straight at Kaplan Arena, leading wire-to-wire in its last two. But it isn't just the offense firing on all cylinders in those wins—although W&M is shooting, on average, 47% in those games. The defense has been locked in, too, forcing just over 15 turnovers per contest while holding opponents to under 40% from the floor. And from 3-point range? W&M's defense has been in shutdown mode, allowing only 10 total treys during the win streak.
- Have a weekend, Alexa Mikeska. The freshman guard recorded the two best performances of her young W&M career against Hampton (1/19/23) and Charleston (1/22/23). On Thursday, she scored a career-high 16 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists, and one steal. She followed up on Sunday with personal bests in assists (7) and rebounds (7), scored six, blocked a pair of shots, and notched a steal. And, if that wasn't enough, she played 35 and 36 minutes in the games, topping her previous season-high. For her efforts, Mikeska was named CAA Rookie of the Week, the second conference award for a W&M player this season.
- UNCW comes into the 'Burg after a weekend split that saw the Seahawks capture their first CAA victory. The squad defeated Elon 62-58 at home on Jan. 20 thanks, in large part, to Jayde Gamble's 20-point performance. It was the second 20-point game for the sophomore guard, but keep an eye on Carrie Gross as well. Her 13.6 points per game sit 11th in the CAA, while her near 80% at the free throw line is eighth.
- Casey continues to add her name to William & Mary women's basketball lore. 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 season. Her seven 3-pointers against the Dragons and Charleston (1/8/23) also match a career-high and Kaplan Arena record. Additionally, she became the second W&M player to record back-to-back 30-plus scoring performances with 31 against George Mason and Army. In those games, Casey shot 53.8% from the field.
- We're walking the line this season. Free throw line that is. W&M is second in the CAA in free throw percentage (.773), behind UNCW, while Wagner is first (.898) among all players in the conference. Against the rest of the country, the Tribe ranks 27th. In Sunday's OT victory, Wagner and Casey combined to go 6-6 from the line.
- Big players make big plays and... play big-time minutes. In Sunday's win at Charleston, four of five starters logged over 30 minutes, with Casey and Wagner both playing 42-plus. In total, seven players saw more than 17 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: 34.4, Wagner: 33.5).
- Wagner and Casey are making good use of those minutes. The preseason All-CAA First-Team tandem sits top-10 in the CAA in points (Casey: 17.6, Wagner: 14.5) and 3-point field goals per game (Casey: 2.9, Wagner: 2.1), while Casey leads the conference in 3-point percentage (.424) They're also the only two W&M players to start all 18 games. Nationally, Casey is 25th in 3-point percentage and 13th in 3-pointers per game.
- The wonder from down under! Australia native Frisby-Smith continued her breakout winter this weekend, scoring a career-high 12 against both Hampton and Charleston. The team's X-factor, according to coach Erin Dickerson Davis, Frisby-Smith also added nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals against the Cougars. Plus, she currently sits 23rd in the CAA in 3-pointers per game (1.1)
- Wagner has recorded several big-time career scoring marks this year. At Charleston (1/22/23), she posted her 21st career 20-point game, the fourth time she scored 20 or more this season. Against Hampton, she recorded her 60th career double-digit scoring performance. Wagner has also dished out two or more assists 14 times and notched six multi-steal games.
