WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—The William & Mary women's basketball team will begin its postseason with a second round matchup against Hofstra in the Credit Union 1 CAA Women's Basketball Championship on Thursday at noon. The duration of the tournament will be played at CareFirst Arena in Washington D.C.
The Tribe finished the season 8-10 in CAA play to earn the No. 9 seed while Hofstra's 9-9 record put them No. 8. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege with a free audio broadcast via 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 11:30 a.m. featuring a pregame interview with
Erin Dickerson Davis. Fans can listen at
tribeathletics.com/listenlive.
Stay up to date with all the information and happenings for the CAA Championship by visiting
TribeAthletics.com/MarchOnTribe. Catch up with the Tribe through social media. 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) and Instagram (WMTribeWBB).
TRIBE NOTES
• The Matchup
For the second time in as many years William & Mary and Hofstra will meet in the second round of the CAA Tournament at noon on Thursday. The Pride enter as the 8-seed with W&M No. 9. The winner will take on No. 1 N.C. A&T on Friday at noon.
•
The Opponent
Hofstra enters the postseason as the No. 8 seed, finishing 9-9 in the CAA regular season. The Pride is one of the best in the nation at the defending the 3-pointer, allowing teams to shoot just 26.3%, eighth best in the nation. Hofstra got the best of W&M in the regular season in Williamsburg, 54-34 on 3/2.
• Last Time Out
The Tribe hung tough in the first half but was unable to keep up with the scoring set by Campbell, falling 73-55 in the series finale.
Bella Nascimento led the Tribe with 18 points and was joined in double figures by
Kayla Rolph (12) and
Natalie Fox (10). The Tribe trailed 43-35 at the half before being outscored by the Camels 30-20 in the second 20 minutes.
• Top of the Class
After leading the CAA in scoring during league play at 17.8 points per game,
Bella Nascimento was named to the All-CAA Second Team by the league's head coaches. Nascimento's 10 games of 20-plus points during CAA play also served as the most in the league. She averaged 15.9 ppg through the entire regular season, fifth best in the CAA.
• Keys to the Offense
There's no doubt that W&M's offensive attack has centered around
Bella Nascimento this season. The All-CAA selection from Grafton, Mass. is six made field goals shy of surpassing Riley Casey and Alexandra Masaquel's 186 makes for second most in a single season at W&M and the most since 1979. Lynn Norenberg, the only player on the women's side with her jersey retired at W&M, holds the record at 227.
• We Meet Again
W&M and Hofstra have quite expansive history in the CAA Tournament. The Tribe and Pride have met 10 times previously in the postseason which is the longest postseason history with a current CAA opponent for W&M. This season marks the third consecutive year the two have met in the postseason with Hofstra being the only opponent W&M has taken on in a win-or-go-home game in three straight seasons.
• Monet's Day
Monet Dance has been at her best when going against N.C. A&T this season. The sophomore guard posted her first career game in double figures against the Aggies on 2/21 with 11 points. She followed that effort up with a new career-high of 16 on Thursday in Greensboro, making a career-best seven free throws on 10 attempts.
• Nice Work, Nat
After a strong start to her college career and then missing time due to injury, freshman
Natalie Fox has returned to form for W&M down the stretch of the season. Fox posted her third game in double figures during CAA play in the season finale at Campbell, and has made three-plus field goals in each of the last five games.
• Everybody Assists
Four different Tribe players led the way with three assists vs. Northeastern on 2/28, as 18 of W&M's 27 made field goals. This season 10 different players have led the Tribe in assists with eight of those players doing so on multiple occasions.
• Balanced is Better
For just the second time this season the Tribe put four in double-figures in the same game vs. Northeastern on 2/28.
Bella Nascimento's 20 led the way with
Cassidy Geddes (17),
Natalie Fox (11) and Anahi Cauley (10) rounding out the quartet. The other occasion was in the overtime win at Hampton, where Fox originally set her career-high of 11.
• Taking Care of the Rock
The Tribe has won the turnover battle in 11 of the last 16 games. Over that span W&M has turned the ball over under 10 times twice, while also turning the opponent over 15-plus times on nine 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 29 games in 2024-25. The Tribe has had five different players miss time with injury/illness this year for a total of 36 games.
Kayla Beckwith (11),
Alexa Mikeska (10),
Natalie Fox (8),
Rebekah Frisby-Smith (2), Anahi Cauley (2),
Emma West (2) and
Marley Long (1) is the group who makes up those absences.
• Sharing is Caring
61.1% of the Tribe's baskets this year has been assisted, the second highest rate in the CAA and 50th in the nation. Drexel is the only CAA team with a higher percentage of assists at 70.6%, which is the best in the nation. This marks the second consecutive year W&M has finished the regular season ranked in the top-50 nationally in assist rate.
• Consistent From the Stripe
For the fourth straight year William & Mary has shot better than 70% from the free throw line as a team, posting 71.2% from the stripe in 2024-25. The mark puts W&M second in the CAA heading into the postseason.
• 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 24-8 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 37-5 against them when scoring 70+ since 2020-21. Offensively, the Tribe is 40-15 when scoring over 60 and 4-29 when held below 60 under Davis.
