WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—The William & Mary women's basketball team looks for its first five-game win streak since 2020, traveling to Elon for a Friday night matchup at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege with a free audio broadcast on the Tribe Sports Network.
Tribe Sports Network
For the second consecutive year, the Tribe Sports Network will be providing free audio broadcasts of all W&M women's basketball away contests.
Jack Angelucci will be on the call with a pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. featuring a pregame interview with
Erin Dickerson Davis. Fans can listen at
tribeathletics.com/listenlive.
TRIBE NOTES
• The Matchup
After successfully defending home court against UNCW and Towson last weekend, William & Mary looks to avenge an overtime loss to Elon, traveling the Phoenix on Friday evening. Both teams are jostling for position in the conference standings, currently tied for second.
•
The Opponent
Elon currently sits at 5-2 in conference play with its two losses against NC A&T and Drexel. The Phoenix is undefeated at home in CAA play and 7-1 on the year at the Schar Center. Elon's loss last time out at Drexel ended a five-game win streak.
• Last Time Out
The Tribe used a hot start out of the gate, leading 20-9 after the first on Sunday against Towson. W&M rode that advantage the rest of the way, downing the Tigers 58-47.
Bella Nascimento posted 24 points, her fourth 20-point game in CAA play, and was joined in double figures by Tika Sallman with 10 points.
• Going for a Run
During the last three games the Tribe has used a large run in each to get them on the path to victory. The Tribe outscored Northeastern 23-9 in the fourth quarter for a comeback victory before using its largest spurt of the season, 20-2, in the second quarter before coasting to a win last Friday over UNCW. The third large run was the 20-9 first quarter over Towson on Sunday.
• 1K for Bella
On top of stellar play as of late,
Bella Nascimento surpassed 1,000 points for her collegiate career in Saturday's win over Towson. Nascimento, who is in her second year with the Tribe after transferring from Manhattan, finished the game with 24 points. She has posted four 20-point performances in the first seven CAA games for the Tribe, tied for the most in conference action with Drexel's Amaris Baker.
• Trending Up
Seven games into CAA action the Tribe have a quartet of players who have picked up their offensive production.
Bella Nascimento (18.9),
Kayla Rolph (11.1) and
Cassidy Geddes (10.9) are all averaging in double figures during league action with Tika Sallman not far behind at 9.1 per game. Nascimento was the only player for W&M who averaged 10-plus in the non-conference.
• WWWWinning Streak
After going the entire non-conference without consecutive wins, the Tribe is now winners of four straight. The current win streak matches W&M's longest under
Erin Dickerson Davis from February of 2023. With a win over the Phoenix the Tribe would have its first five-game win streak in nearly five years, dating back to February of 2020.
• Locking it Down
The 47 points allowed to Towson is the Tribe's best defensive performance against a DI opponent this season. The last time W&M held a conference opponent to less than 50 points was over a year ago, in a narrow 48-46 win at Hofstra last January. The Tigers' 29.3% from the floor was also a season-low for a DI Tribe opponent and marked the third time in
Erin Dickerson Davis' tenure W&M has held a DI team to less than 30% from the floor.
• Taking Care of the Rock
The Tribe has won the turnover battle in each of the last six games, dating back to the first meeting with Elon. Over that span W&M has turned the ball over under 10 times twice, while also turning the opponent over 15-plus times on five occasions.
• Injury Bug
After a year in which injuries were few and far between for the Tribe, the injury bug has caught up with them through 18 games in 2024-25. The Tribe has had five different players miss time with injury this year for a total of 23 games. ,
Kayla Beckwith (8),
Natalie Fox (7),
Alexa Mikeska (3),
Rebekah Frisby-Smith (2), Anahi Cauley (2),
Marley Long (1) is the group who makes up those absences.
• 70 Points = W
The 78 points on Friday marked the fifth time this season, and first time in three consecutive games, the Tribe has scored 70-or-more points. W&M is 5-0 in those games.
• Where They Rank
The Tribe currently finds themselves ranked top-five in the CAA in assists (2nd), FT shooting (3rd) and turnover margin (5th).
Bella Nascimento ranks fifth in the conference in scoring at 15.2 ppg. She's averaging 18.9 ppg in CAA games, good for third best.
• Sharing the Rock
62.4% of the Tribe's baskets this year has been assisted, the second highest rate in the CAA and 43rd in the nation. Drexel is the only CAA team with a higher percentage of assists at 71.8%, third best in the nation.
• Keeping the Streak Alive
Sunday's win for W&M clinched the third consecutive season the Tribe has won five games in January. A win over Elon will mark the most wins in a month during
Erin Dickerson Davis' tenure. The Tribe has never had a losing January or February under Davis.
• 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.
• Speaking of Height...
Freshman
Natalie Fox is the Tribe's tallest newcomer, as well as tallest player, this season at 6-foot-4. She is the tallest player W&M has had since Abby Rendle, also at 6-foot-4, who graduated in 2018.
• 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.
• 60 is the Magic Number
60 points is a key number for W&M. The Tribe is 22-6 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 32-5 against them when scoring 70+ since 2020-21. Offensively, the Tribe is 37-13 when scoring over 60 and 4-23 when held below 60 under Davis.
