ELON, N.C.— After trailing to Elon 51-46 after three quarters the William & Mary women's basketball team dominated the fourth quarter to the tune of 18-8 to win 64-59 on Friday night in North Carolina.
 
The win is the Tribe's fifth in a row, the first time since February 2020 that W&M had a five-game win streak. The 6-2 record in CAA play ties for the best start in conference play in W&M history with the 2005-06 Tribe, a win on Sunday will set a new program best.
 
Cassidy Geddes and Bella Nascimento spearheaded the Tribe offense, scoring 25 and 18 respectively.
 
After a Kayla Rolph bucket in the paint put W&M (9-10, 6-2 CAA) up 6-2, the Phoenix went on an 8-0 run to lead by four with 2:32 to play in the opening quarter.
 
The dust settled in the first with Elon clinging to a 12-10 lead.
 
Geddes jumpstarted her evening with a bang at the start of the second, scoring seven in a row in the first 1:15 of the frame to put the Tribe up 17-12.
 
Another bucket from the sophomore guard at the 5:39 mark would give W&M its largest lead of the evening, 23-15. Again, the Phoenix would respond, going on a 18-6 spurt to take a 33-29 lead to the half.
 
Geddes scored 11 of the Tribe's 19 points in the frame on 5-for-8 shooting. Nascimento had eight over the first 20 minutes.
 
Elon shot 5-for-12 from deep in the first half including a trio of triples over their second quarter run.

The third was a back-and-forth frame, with Nascimento and Geddes each adding two quick buckets to tie it at 37-all with 7:06 on the clock. After trading buckets the Phoenix would once again go on a spurt, this time of the 9-1 variety, to lead 48-40 at the 3:16 mark.
 
Four points from Jana Sallman and an Anahi-Lee Cauley score made it a one-possession game again until Elon scored the final three points of the stanza to lead 51-46 after three.
 
The beginning of the fourth was all Green and Gold.
 
After an early Nascimento bucket, Geddes converted back-to-back layups, giving the Tribe its first lead of the half, 52-51.
 
The run would continue with W&M scoring the first 11 points of stanza, keeping the Phoenix scoreless until the 2:46 mark. The Tribe's stifling defense forced five turnovers and 11 consecutive Elon misses over the stretch.
 
Once the hosts ended their drought, they would make it a two-point game, 59-57, with 2:04 to play in regulation.
 
The Tribe stayed cool and collected however, with a Nascimento jumper and a Rebekah Frisby-Smith free throw putting W&M back up by five.
 
Elon would get the ball back down three with 27 seconds remaining but would turn it over on the inbounds thanks to an athletic Cauley steal. Geddes would salt the game away from there with two from the charity stripe to make the final 64-59.
 
Geddes would finish with seven boards to go with her 25 points, tying a career-high on the glass. Cauley would turn in a stat-sheet-stuffing night, finishing with a career-best seven assists and five steals to go with seven points.
 
W&M won the turnover battle 23-11, scoring 29 points off the 23 Phoenix mistakes. The Tribe shot 41.8% from the field, while Elon posted 33.8%.
 
Up Next
The Tribe will host Campbell for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Tip is set for 1 p.m. with a youth sports clinic taking place beforehand in Kaplan with other Tribe women's sports teams. Parents are encouraged to stay with their kids during the clinic and attend the game with them afterwards.