By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

If you've never seen Rebekah Frisby-Smith play and rely only on statistics, you might not immediately be impressed. But you also won't get the full picture. She's not one of those players who can be defined strictly by data.

William & Mary women's basketball coach Erin Dickerson Davis knows that better than anyone.

"There are so many things she brings to the table that you don't see on the stat sheet, but we thrive when Bek thrives," Davis said. "I don't think we can win without a player like her on our team."

And as you might have heard, Davis' team is winning. Heading into the Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, the Tribe (17-12) is the No. 4 seed after matching the school record with 12 conference wins.

Sure, guards Riley Casey and Sydney Wagner are combining for 52% of the team's point production and W&M is 9-0 when Bre Bellamy scores in double figures. But there's a reason why Davis has repeatedly referred to Frisby-Smith as the team's "X-factor."

Statistically speaking, Frisby-Smith leads the Tribe with 43 steals. She is second in rebounding (5.6 per game), third in minutes (29 per game) and 3-pointers (40), and fourth in scoring (7.2 per game) and assists (1.9 per game).

And, if charges taken were kept, Davis has no doubt she would lead the Colonial. All because Frisby-Smith, who grew up playing Australian rules football in her native land, is perfectly willing to spend as much time crashing to the floor as she does running it.

"I've always been the one to have the most bruises on the team," Frisby-Smith said. "I don't know, I just want the ball so much. And if it takes diving on the floor to get it, I'm used to that physical play, and I carry that into basketball."

Her teammates admire that.

"Honestly, she's the difference-maker on our team," Wagner said. "Bek is our heartbeat on the floor. She brings that energy we need and gets us going."

Frisby-Smith, a 5-foot-11 junior majoring in kinesiology, was born in raised in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. Her father, Mark, played indoor and beach volleyball on the Australian National Team. Her mother, Jennifer, played soccer on First XI of Victoria University of Wellington.

Rebekah played those sports and just about any others you could name as a kid. In her W&M site bio, she lists her favorite free-time activities as "basketball, swimming, skiing, snowboarding, snorkeling, scuba diving, reading, surfing, camping and going to the beach." Sounds like a full day.

Like many Australian basketball players, Frisby-Smith dreamed of playing collegiately in the U.S. In her senior year, she began sending out highlight tapes. She had never heard of William & Mary, but by sheer happenstance, one of her assistant coaches had a sister-in-law who was a professor there.

"William & Mary was my only official visit," Frisby-Smith said. "I guess one is enough, and it worked out for me."

In her first two seasons, Frisby-Smith averaged 1.6 points in 11 minutes a game. In an overtime win against George Mason last year, she had an impact with six points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Since Australia is literally on the other side of the globe and the pandemic made traveling an issue, Frisby-Smith wasn't able to go home until last summer. Not only did she get to see her family, she improved her game by working with some familiar faces.

"I was able to reset and work out with my old coaches and figure out what my goals would be for this season," she said. "And the opportunity of having a new staff coming in definitely motivated me to work harder and improve myself."

Frisby-Smith began this season as one of the first players off the bench before working her way into the starting lineup. In her first 16 games, she averaged 5.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals a game.

But as her role grew, so did her confidence. In the final 13 games of W&M's regular season, she averaged 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.9 steals a game.

"The jump she's made from last year to this year is tremendous," Bellamy said. "We couldn't be more proud of her."

Davis credits Frisby-Smith with her work at the point of the Tribe's press, which has been instrumental in this season's turnaround.

"Bek is such a bright light in what we do," Davis said. "She's so fun to coach."

In Frisby-Smith's first two seasons, W&M went 16-27 overall, 8-18 in the conference. This year, with an 11-3 record in its final 14 games, the Tribe has climbed to a higher level.

"We've enjoyed playing so much more," Frisby-Smith said. "We all enjoy spending time with each other, and on the court it's no different. We know each other's strengths.

"We're all excited because we haven't been able to win this many games in the past. We're here now, so we might as well go all the way with everything we've got."