WILLIAMSBURG, Va.— William & Mary women's basketball returns home after playing their last three games on the road, hosting Elon on Friday at Kaplan Arena. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at FloHoops.
Fans can keep up with W&M women's basketball by following the program on social media as well. Be sure to check out the Tribe on Twitter (@WMTribeWBB), Facebook (WMTribeWBB), and Instagram (WMTribeWBB).
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.
TRIBE NOTES
• The Matchup
William & Mary looks to bounce back from a loss on Sunday at Campbell, hosting Elon on Friday in Kaplan Arena. The game is set to tip at 7 p.m. on FloHoops.
• The Opponent
Elon enters Friday's matchup at 5-8 in CAA play and 9-17 overall. The Phoenix are closing out a three game road stand on Friday, after beating Northeastern and losing to Stony Brook on the road last weekend. Elon's lone CAA win against a team with a winning conference record was at Monmouth on Jan. 19.
• Last Time Out
Nylah Young found her way to double figures for the fifth consecutive game, scoring 20, but it wasn't enough for the Tribe to pick up a road win at Campbell, falling 57-46. After trailing by 10 early, the Tribe held Campbell to three points and 0-for-10 shooting and three points in the second. Cassidy Geddes scored 11 for her 11th game in double figures as a freshman to back up her CAA Rookie of the Week honors. The Camels held the Tribe to six points in the first and seven in the fourth to secure the win. W&M was 1-for-11 from deep.
• Last Time We Met
The Tribe looks to pick up the regular season sweep against Elon for the second consecutive year after beating the Phoenix 62-43 on Jan. 19 in North Carolina. Bella Nascimento posted her first career double double with 21 points and 10 boards for W&M. The Tribe outscored the Phoenix 37-23 in the second half to seal the victory.
• Not Bad, Rook
Cassidy Geddes earned her first conference award of her young college career, being named the CAA Rookie of the Week last Monday. Geddes scored 20 against Delaware on Friday before putting up 19 at Hampton. 32 of the guard's 39 points on the weekend came in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left to propel the Tribe to a 62-58 win against the Hens. Geddes has scored in double figures 11 times this year including the last six games.
• Nylon Nylah
After a dry spell scoring the ball, Nylah Young has returned to her early-season form for the Tribe, having scored in double figures in five consecutive games. Young's 20 at Campbell was her seventh 20+ game this season, tied for second most in the CAA. She currently ranks tops in the conference in FT% (91.5), seventh in scoring (14.6 ppg), second in FG% (43.7) and fourth in FTM (86).
• 6+ 3's = Success...Simple As That
The Tribe's success from behind the arc can be directly correlated to the win column. W&M has made six or more 3-pointers nine different times this season, going 7-2 in those games. The Tribe hit six-plus against both of this weekend's opponents, making six against Elon and eight at Hampton.
• Home Court Advantage
Heading into the weekend, William & Mary sits second in the CAA in average attendance. 12,415 people in total have attended the Tribe's first 10 home games for an average of 1,242. W&M is one of three school's averaging over 1,000 people for their home games, with Delaware leading the conference 1,293 and Campbell in third at 1,200.
•Analytically Speaking
William & Mary currently sits third in the CAA in assists per game but are tops in the league and 49th in the nation in assist percentage according to the Warren Nolan analytics site. 61.5% of the Tribe's baskets have been assisted this year. W&M is also one of five teams in the CAA in the top-60 in the country in defensive rating, clocking in at 57th.
• Taking on the Nation's Best Defenses
The Tribe's tough non-conference schedule has been talked about, but as a whole the Tribe have faced off, or will face off, with some of the nation's top defenses all year long. According to Warren Nolan's defensive rating, measuring how many points a team gives up per 100 possessions, the Tribe has nine top-50 defenses on their schedule. Four of those opponents are in the top-16, led by Stony Brook who is second and Norfolk State ranked sixth.
• Competing on the Glass
Although the Tribe are not a statistically dominate team on the glass, there is no doubt they have improved their efforts on the boards from a year ago. W&M has already outrebounded their opponent 11 times this year compared to just four times all of last year. They have a 9-2 record when doing so this season.
• Protecting the Rock
W&M has won the turnover battle in 12 of the last 15 games and have a 9-6 record when doing so this season.
• 60 is the Magic Number
The Tribe has held their opponents under 60 points in nine of their 12 wins this season, while opponents have scored over 60 in eight of the nine W&M losses. The Tribe is 16-4 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 25-4 against them when scoring 70+ since 2020-21.
• Formidable Opponents
William & Mary's non-conference slate was set up to be a challenging one and proved to be. The seven teams who beat the Tribe owned a combined record of 62-18 in the non-conference.
