WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — William & Mary women's basketball returns home for the first time in nearly a month against Coppin State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from Kaplan Arena. The game will be broadcasted on MASN and FloCollege.
• Clear Bag Policy and Metal Detectors
Furthering its commitment to a first class and secure environment at home athletic events, William & Mary will implement the use of walk-through metal detectors at the entrances to athletic venues (both ticketed and non-ticketed events) beginning in the fall of 2025. This enhanced security method mirrors standard practice at most major professional and intercollegiate athletic events throughout the country and compliments the
Clear Bag Policy already in place. Fans will proceed through metal detectors prior to having their tickets scanned or entering a venue for non-tickets events. Entrants will not need to remove items such as belts, cell phones, coins, jackets, jewelry, watches, wallets, shoes or other small objects. If additional screening is necessary, security staff will ask the individual to proceed to a secondary screening area, where they will be asked to divest themselves of certain items and pass through again until clear.
TRIBE NOTES
• The Matchup
W&M returns home for the first time in 27 days as it hosts Coppin State on Saturday. The Tribe has won three straight non-conference games, all on the road, to even its record to .500.
• The Opponent
Coppin State is 2-9 on the season and is coming off an eight-point road loss to SMU on Wednesday. The Eagles got their first Division I win of the season last Saturday against Sacred Heart, 52-49. Senior guard Khila Morris is the team's lone double-figures scorer at 11.4 ppg.
• Last Time Out
The Tribe took down American 73-60 on Sunday. Tika Sallman led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high five assists. Cassidy Geddes added 18 points while Natalie Fox put up 15 points and five helpers. The Tribe shot a season-best 50% from the floor.
• Star of the Show
Tika Sallman was named CAA Player of the Week for Dec. 8 after averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 67% from the floor. The Cairo, Egypt native keyed W&M's upset of Wake Forest, posting 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Sallman ranks second in the CAA in FG% (60.4) and FT% (82.6).
• Road Warriors
The Green & Gold has won three straight non-conference road games for the first time since Nov. 30-Dec. 29, 2019.
• Ball Control
Alexa Mikeska leads the CAA and ranks 36th nationally with a 2.60 assist-to-turnover ratio. Over her last three games, the senior guard has dropped 11 dimes without committing a single turnover.
• Major Upset
W&M's win over Wake Forest marked a series of firsts.
- The first win over a power-conference opponent since Clemson in 2015.
- The first win over Wake Forest in school history.
- The first non-conference road winning streak since 2020.
- The first loss for Wake Forest, previously the ACC's lone remaining unbeaten team.
• Dropping Dimes
Cassidy Geddes dished out a career-high seven assists at Wake Forest. As a team, the Tribe had 20 assists on 28 made baskets against the Deacs.
• Pick-pocketing
The 26 turnovers forced by the Tribe against Tennessee State was its most vs. a DI opponent since the 2023-24 season when it forced 26 miscues twice against Hofstra on Jan. 26 and, coincidentally, against TSU on Nov. 24 of that year.
• Money Mo
Monet Dance recorded her second career 20-point game at TSU, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and hitting all seven of her foul shots.
• Cass Doubles Down
Cassidy Geddes not only led the Tribe in scoring for the fourth time this season against Howard, but the junior was impactful as a rebounder from the guard position. Geddes snagged 10 rebounds to go with her 17 points for the first double-double of her career. She joins Natalie Fox, Alexa Mikeska and Tika Sallman as the four players on the Tribe's roster to have double-doubles in their career.
• Sultan's of Swat
Through five games the Tribe have been altering shots at a high level. W&M is currently second in the CAA in blocks per game at 4.2. The Green and Gold have logged 17 blocks in its last three games. Individually, Tika Sallman leads the way with eight blocks, followed by Natalie Fox with seven.
• Nat on the Glass
After a strong freshman season, Natalie Fox is poised for another solid season in Green and Gold in 2025-26. The LaGrangeville, N.Y. native scored in double figures in the first three games this season, the first time in her career she has scored 10-plus in three straight outings. The sophomore grabbed a career-high 13 boards on Sunday at Howard surpassing her previous watermark of 12. Through five outings Fox leads the team at 7.8 rebounds per game and is second in scoring at 9.2 per game.
• Block Party
Tika Sallman's five blocks against ODU was a career-high and the most by a Tribe player since Kayla Beckwith against Stony Brook on March 9, 2024.
• O-Boarding
The brightest spot for the Tribe against Richmond was its effort on the offensive glass. W&M hauled in 20 offensive boards against a lanky Spiders squad.
• Sharing the Rock
Sharing the ball has been a calling card of Erin Dickerson Davis' Tribe teams and this season is no different. Over the first two games of the year, W&M has had 10 different players earn an assist. The Tribe's 22 helpers vs. Barton tied for the second-most in Davis' tenure and the eighth time W&M has recorded 20-plus assists in a game with her at the helm.
• Back for More
No doubt a rarity in this day and age, the Tribe will return all nine of its non-graduating players from a season ago. W&M adds four freshman while picking Kyah Smith, a former Patriot League All-Rookie selection, from Navy and Ice Dos Santos from Odessa College (JUCO) via the transfer portal.
• Bright Lights=Big Shots
W&M finished the 2024-25 regular season shooting 37.8% from the floor and 25.5% from deep. Over the six-game postseason run the Tribe no doubt found their touch, shooting 44.4% from the field and 43.5% from 3-point range in that span.
• Tika and Nat Team Up
Natalie Fox and Tika Sallman have proven to be a nice one-two punch inside for the Tribe through two games. The duo combined for 21 and 22 points at Davidson and vs. Barton. Both posted 11 points in Sunday's win, marking the first time they both hit double-digits in the same game in their careers.
• Ice in Mo's Veins
Monet Dance took her game to a whole different level in the postseason last year. The Roswell, Ga. native averaged 3.9 ppg in the regular season before going off for 14 a game in the CAA and NCAA tournaments. Dance also posted the best 3-point shooting season in program history, shooting a W&M record 43.6% from deep. That stat was aided by her blistering 16-of-21 (76.2%) stretch in the postseason after making just 18 triples in the regular season. She tied the CAA Tournament record with seven treys in the quarterfinals against N.C. A&T on her way to a career-high 27 points. Dance earned CAA All-Tournament Team for her efforts.
• Comeback Kids
W&M's historic run last season didn't come without adversity and deficits along the way. The Tribe trailed top-seed N.C. A&T in the quarterfinals by 12 points in the middle of the third before coming back to force overtime and earn a win. Campbell was the next victim of a W&M comeback in the championship, getting out to a 14-0 lead and again leading by 13 in the third before succumbing to a Tribe offensive bombardment that included a 61.5% shooting effort in the fourth. The Tribe only had won once when trailing at the half in the regular season.
• Tribe on TV
Naturally, last season brought a new-level of national attention to the Tribe program, with W&M playing a program record 12 games on linear television. Additionally, W&M played its first three nationally televised games in program history in 2024-25. The Green and Gold will be on TV a minimum of 10 times this season with 10 home matchups broadcast on MASN.
• Excellence From E
No other coach in William & Mary women's basketball history has had the success that Erin Dickerson Davis has had through three seasons. With the 16 wins last year, Davis became the first Tribe coach to win 15-plus games in each of their first three seasons. The Tribe won 12 conference games in each of her first two years, tying the program record for CAA wins in season. W&M's first win of the season against Barton was Davis's 50th in her head coaching career.
