WILLIAMSBURG, Va.-- The William & Mary women's basketball team opens up their home slate with DII Chowan on Thursday at Kaplan Arena. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege and will start at 7 p.m.
Clear Bag Policy
William & Mary Athletics, in conjunction with the William & Mary Police Department, has implemented a
clear
bag policy that regulates the size and type of
bag that may be carried into W&M Athletics facilities during the 2023-24 year, including Busch Field, Kaplan Arena, Martin Family Stadium, Plumeri Park, and Zable Stadium. Information as well as approved and prohibited items is available at
TribeAtheltics.com.
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TRIBE NOTES
• The Matchup
William & Mary opens up their home slate by welcoming DII Chowan to Kaplan Arena on Thursday evening. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at FloCollege as the Tribe looks for its first win of the season.
• The Opponent
After going winless in their non-conference slate a season ago, Chowan brought it together nicely in Conference Carolinas play, going 13-5 to finish 13-10 overall. Their season ended in the second round, losing to Barton. Yasmine Brown is the returning leading scorer for the Hawks at 6.7 ppg.
• A Look Back
W&M enters year three of the
Erin Dickerson Davis era fresh off their second consecutive winning season (15-14), and second consecutive 12-6 mark in CAA play. The Tribe finished fifth in CAA posting back-to-back top-five finishes in the conference for the first time since 2007. During last year's non-conference W&M also won the FIU Thanksgiving Classic.
• Last Time Out
After a heartbreaking 67-65 loss at Long Beach State, W&M wrapped their trip to California by visiting UC Irvine on Monday. After using a 17-2 run in the first quarter to get out to a lead, the Anteaters were able to stave off the Tribe ever time they got close using runs in the third and fourth quarter to put the game away, 72-55.
Cassidy Geddes led the way with 18 points.
• Running it Back
Many key pieces from last year's roster return for the Tribe in 2024-25. Despite the loss of All-CAA First Team member
Nylah Young, W&M will return seven of its top eight scorers from a year ago, accounting for 70.7% of last year's scoring.
• Newfound Height
The Tribe adds six new players to the roster in 2024-25, four freshmen and two transfers. Five of the six newcomers are over 6-feet tall. The average height of the six new players is slightly over 6'1, while the average height of the eight returners is 5'9.
• Sharpshooting
The Tribe went 7-of-14 from deep in the loss at Irvine on Monday. The last time the Tribe shot 50% or better from behind the arc was Jan. 19 against Delaware. W&M only accomplished the feat twice all of last season.
• Cass Back in Business
Cassidy Geddes retruned to the form that Tribe fans are used to on Monday against Irvine. After just scoring nine total points in the first two games of the year, Geddes poured in a team-high 18. She also knocked down the first four 3-pointers she attempted on the afternoon after starting the year 1-for-10 fron deep.
• Nice Start for Nat
Natalie Fox has already made an impact off the bench for the Tribe, posting a double-double in her second collegiate game against. Fox snagged 12 rebounds and added 10 points against the Beach. The dozen boards were the most by a W&M player since Dec. 2020 and the most by a freshman in over a decade.
• Ballin' Bella
After opening the season with back-to-back 21-point performances to kick off the season,
Bella Nascimento again found her way to double figures against Irvine, finishing with 10. It is just the third time in her W&M career scoring in double figures for three straight games, she scored 10+ in the first four games last season and will look to repeat that on Thursday. She now has 40 double-digit games in her career.
• Punching the Time Clock
All eight of the returners for W&M played in at least 24 games last year and averaged over 10 minutes per game, accounting for 84% of minutes and 81% of starts for the Tribe a season ago. The group also accounted for 94% of the Tribe's assists last year.
• Coach E Extended
W&M Director of Athletics, Brian Mann, announced in late August that head coach
Erin Dickerson Davis had agreed to a contract extension through 2029. Through two seasons Davis became the fastest coach to 20 CAA wins in program history and fastest to 30 career wins in 95 years.
• Preseason Accolades
Bella Nascimento earned Preseason All-CAA Second Team honors on Oct. 18 and is the Tribe's returning leading scorer at 12.4ppg.
Cassidy Geddes earned a preseason honorable mention coming off her CAA All-Rookie honors last year. W&M was picked tied for fourth in the preseason poll.
• Getting to the Stripe
Last year the Tribe wore out the path to the free throw line, attempting 521 free throws, their most as a program since 2009-10.
• Locking it Down
The Tribe had one of its best defensive years in recent history last season, holding its opponents to just 38.2% shooting from the floor. That serves as the best mark for the Tribe since 2009-10.
• 60 is the Magic Number
60 points is a key number for W&M. The Tribe is 17-5 under
Erin Dickerson Davis when holding teams below 60. While team's have had a mixed bag of success scoring in the 60s vs. W&M, opponents are 29-4 against them when scoring 70+ since 2020-21. Offensively the Tribe is 29-12 when scoring over 60 and 2-18 when held below 60 under Davis.
• Tough Early Tests
After kicking off the season against back-to-back MEAC champions Norfolk State, the Tribe traveled to Long Beach State and UC Irvine. LBSU enters 2024-25 picked fourth in the Big West, while Irvine was picked second in the same conference. Later in the month they will play A-10 favorites, Richmond, and ODU, which was selected third in the Sun Belt. Howard was picked tied for first in the MEAC with NSU and will come to Williamsburg Nov. 29
• Pack Your Bags
From Nov. 29 until Jan. 3 the Tribe will not play a game at home. The 35 straight days without a home game is the fifth longest stretch in DI.
