WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—The William & Mary women's basketball team kicks off a four-game homestand when they welcome N.C. A&T to Kaplan Arena on Friday at 7 p.m.
Friday also serves as the Tribe's Black History Month game with the team wearing special edition warmup shirts.
The Williamsburg Bray School will also have representatives on hand to talk about their mission in preserving the school's legacy.
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 2024-25 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
After playing three straight on the road William & Mary returns home for four straight. First on the docket in first-place N.C. A&T for a Friday night matchup at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege.
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The Opponent
The Aggies come to Williamsburg looking to continue their strong performance in CAA play, coming in at first place and 10-2 in conference action. A&T ranks top-five in the CAA in eight major stat categories and is the best defensive team in the league, only allowing 54.2 points per game.
• Last Time Out
Delaware used hot shooting to cruise to an 82-59 win over W&M on Sunday in Newark. The Tribe was led by
Bella Nascimento's 22 points, her fourth consecutive game with 20-plus points. She was joined in double figures by
Cassidy Geddes with 10. The sophomore went 8-for-8 from the free throw stripe.
• Top of the Class
Bella Nascimento has asserted herself as one of the best players in the CAA, currently leading the league in scoring during conference play at 20.3 per game. Nascimento's 22 on Sunday at Delaware marked her eighth game of 20-plus in CAA action, also a league best. She has scored in double figures in all but three games this year.
• Real Deal Rolph
Much like Nascimento,
Kayla Rolph has been turning heads around the CAA during conference play for the Tribe. The junior posted her first career double-double at Hampton with a career-high 13 rebounds. Her eight games in double figures this year are more than she had combined in her first two years with W&M.
• Bella on a Roll
For the first time in her career
Bella Nascimento has scored 20-plus in four consecutive games. The stretch also marks the third time this season the senior has broken the 20-point mark in back-to-back contests and the third straight year W&M has had at least one player with three straight contests of 20 or more.
• Glass Cleaning
With the high number of turnovers at Hampton it is fair to say the Tribe won the game thanks to its rebounding efforts. W&M outrebounded the Pirates 53-29, with the +24 margin being the largest for the Tribe under
Erin Dickerson Davis. The last time W&M was +24 or better on the boards was November 2018 when they were +29 against ECU.
• Everybody Assists
With
Marley Long's three assists leading the Tribe on Sunday at Delaware, W&M has had nine different players lead the team in assists this year. Even more impressively, all eight of those nine players have led the team in helpers on multiple occasions.
• Working Overtime
For just the third time in program history W&M went to overtime in back-to-back games at Hampton and at Delaware. All three instances have come in conference play and all three have ironically involved Drexel. The most recent of those times came in 2015, with both games going to double OT. The first instance was 2011.
• Taking Care of the Rock
The Tribe has won the turnover battle in eight of the last 11 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 six 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 23 games in 2024-25. The Tribe has had five different players miss time with injury this year for a total of 28 games.
Kayla Beckwith (11),
Natalie Fox (8),
Alexa Mikeska (5),
Rebekah Frisby-Smith (2), Anahi Cauley (2),
Marley Long (1) is the group who makes up those absences.
• Sharing the Rock
62.0% of the Tribe's baskets this year has been assisted, the second highest rate in the CAA and 47th in the nation. Drexel is the only CAA team with a higher percentage of assists at 72.0%, which is the best in the nation.
• Month to Remember
The Tribe closed out January 6-2 thanks to Friday's win. The six wins is W&M's most in a month under
Erin Dickerson Davis and the third straight January the Tribe has won five-plus games. Davis has never had a losing January or February or won less than five games in each of those months during her tenure.
• 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.
• 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 23-7 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 34-5 against them when scoring 70+ since 2020-21. Offensively, the Tribe is 39-14 when scoring over 60 and 4-25 when held below 60 under Davis.
•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 and 70.7% of last year's scoring.
