WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—The William & Mary women's basketball team will look to follow up its second round win over Hofstra by upsetting top-seeded N.C. A&T in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 CAA Women's Basketball Championship on Friday at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C.
Tip is set for noon with the game broadcast on FloCollege with a free audio broadcast via the Tribe Sports Network.
Fans who aren't making the trip to D.C. are encouraged to attend a watch party at Anna's Brick Over in Williamsburg with doors opening at 11 a.m.
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
After getting the better of No. 8 Hofstra on Thursday afternoon William & Mary will face a stern test in Friday's quarterfinal against regular season champions N.C. A&T. Tip is set for noon in Washington, D.C.
• The Opponent
N.C. A&T started the year at the top of the CAA standings and never left that perch, cruising to a 15-3 record in conference play. The Aggies sport the best defense in the CAA alongside a top-three offensive attack. W&M has beaten two of the three teams to beat A&T in CAA play, Elon and Monmouth.
• Last Time Out
Balance was the name of the game for W&M in Thursday's second round game against Hofstra with all eight players who saw action making multiple field goals in a 76-65 win.
Bella Nascimento led the way for W&M, like she has most of the year, with 18 points.
Monet Dance (12) and
Kayla Rolph (11) joined her in double figures.
• 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. With her eight made field goals (189 total) in Thursday's second round she has now passed 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.
• First Time for Everything
After playing Hofstra, a team the Tribe has played the most in the most in the postseason out of current CAA opponents, W&M and N.C. A&T will meet for the first time ever in the postseason. Campbell, Hampton, Northeastern, Monmouth and Stony Brook are the other schools W&M has never played in a winner-take-all setting.
• 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 six 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
Thursday's second round win was a true example of a team effort for the Tribe. All eight players who saw action played 10-plus minutes and made multiple field goals. Seven of the eight players finished the day with seven-plus points, while six of those players handed out multiple assists.
• Taking Care of the Rock
The Tribe has won the turnover battle in 12 of the last 17 games. Over that span W&M has turned the ball over under 10 times on three occasions, while also forcing 15-plus turnovers 10 times.
• 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 41-15 when scoring over 60 and 4-29 when held below 60 under Davis.
