By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

In its next-to-last game of the regular season on Thursday, William & Mary's record book got a few new entries as Riley Casey put on an offensive show.

Joined by a supportive cast of teammates, Casey's career night led the Tribe to a 70-60 victory over Monmouth in West Long Branch, N.J., and moved the squad into a tie for fourth place in the conference standings.

Casey finished with 33 points, a career-high which tied her for the third-highest scoring game in program history. Forwards Rebekah Frisby-Smith and Bre Bellamy added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Sydney Wagner, the Tribe's second-leading scorer at 16.1 points a game, started but was subbed out at the first dead ball with 8:19 left in the period. She spent the remainder of the game on the bench.

"She was playing pretty gingerly because she didn't want to get hurt anymore, so we just took her out," W&M coach Erin Dickerson Davis said. "We talked about that beforehand and we knew that Syd was hurting, so we got everybody ready for that to make up for what she brings to the table.

"Everybody stepped up and played a huge role. You never know who it's going to be on any given day, and I think that makes our team special."

The Tribe (16-12, 11-6 CAA) has won 11 conference games for only the third time in program history. W&M has a chance to match its best-ever Colonial record, which was set in 2019-20, with a win over Hofstra Saturday.

Casey broke 30 points for the sixth time this season and seventh time in her career, both school records. She had 20 of those points in the first half, capped by a jumper with four seconds remaining to give the Tribe a 42-39 lead at the break.

Four of Casey's first five baskets were one-on-one moves to the rim. She attempted 27 shots, tied for second most in program history, and made 12.

Casey's performance raised her season point total to 517, the fifth-most by any Tribe player.

Offensively, W&M couldn't have been more efficient in the first half, shooting 54.5% from the floor and recording only one turnover, which didn't come until 1:44 remained in the second quarter.

W&M took its biggest lead at 49-30 with 7:32 remaining in the third quarter. Monmouth (13-15, 8-9) chipped away and cut the lead to 63-57 with 6:07 left in the game. But after Davis called a timeout, Bellamy scored on a layup to spark a 7-0 run.

"I think they had fallen victim to fatigue," Davis said. "So, in the huddle, I said, 'There's no time to be tired right now.' We had to finish out strong.

"We've been talking about finishing the last two weeks or so. We took the time to take a deep breath and refocus."

Casey played all 40 minutes for the second consecutive game and had six assists to match Alexa Mikeska for the team high.

Frisby-Smith finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Bellamy had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and nine rebounds. The Tribe is 8-0 this season when Bellamy, who is from nearby Freehold, N.J., has scored in double figures.

"There's no reason in my mind why Bre can't get that every night," Davis said.

Caitlin Wingertzahn, who is from Rumson, N.J., provided a boost off the bench with eight points on 4-of-5 accuracy.

"We were excited for Caitlin," Davis said. "She was able to come in and step up with her family here."

William & Mary will conclude its regular season Saturday afternoon against Hofstra (9-18, 3-13) at Kaplan Arena.