Williamsburg Sun

Tribe Makes the Trip to Philly for Sunday Game at Drexel

The William & Mary women's basketball team hits the road for a Sunday afternoon tilt at Drexel. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on FloHoops. 

W&M has its sights set on a regular-season sweep of the Dragons are the Green and Gold grabbed a 74-58 victory in the 'Burg last month. Riley Casey had one of her four 31-point performances of the year in that game, hitting seven shots from behind the arc. That mark matched a Kaplan Arena record. 

Stay up to date with all things Tribe women's hoops on social media! Fans can follow along with the team throughout the season by checking out the Green and Gold on Twitter (@WMTribeWBB), Facebook (WMTribeWBB), and Instagram (WMTribeWBB).

W&M News and Notes

- Allow us to get a bit defensive... about our defense, in particular. Against Elon on Friday night, William & Mary forced 25 turnovers and racked up a season-high 15 steals, including four by graduate guard Riley Casey. Bolstered by that solid defensive pressure, the Tribe scored 18 fast-break points and notched a whopping 32 points off turnovers en route to a 69-53 victory over the Phoenix. Winners in five of its last six games, the Green and Gold's defensive prowess has been on display each time the squad sets its collective feet on the hardwood. In those five wins, W&M has forced, on average, 19 turnovers and posted double-digit steals twice.- Taking a cue from Lin-Manuel Miranda's book, history has its eyes on William & Mary's backcourt. Casey and fellow grad guard Sydney Wagner both reached program milestones in Friday's win over Elon. Netting her 1,317th career point, Wagner moved into a tie for 11th on the program's all-time scorers list and is only 24 points away from taking sole possession of 10th all-time. Meanwhile, Casey now owns the ninth-best single-season scoring performance in Tribe history with her 467 points (so far) this year. She's 27 points away from cracking the top-5.- Of course, impressive offensive performances have become the norm for the Tribe's dynamic guard duo all season. Casey's 24 points against the Phoenix marked her 11th 20-plus point performance of the year, while Wagner's 22 was her 8th. And, since the calendar flipped to 2023, Wagner has hit double-digits in every game she's suited up for.- We're ready for a repeat performance. At Kaplan in January, W&M rolled to a 74-58 victory over Drexel, led by Casey's fourth 31-point game of the year. The Tribe never trailed in the win, shooting nearly 44% from the floor while Casey went 7-of-14 from distance in 37 minutes of work. She also went a perfect 4-for-4 from the line, as did Wagner and Rebekah Frisby-Smith. And the defense was on point, too. The Tribe held Drexel to 36.5% from the floor, forcing 17 turnovers and finishing the afternoon with 11 steals.- Up top, Tribe! As a team, William & Mary leads the CAA in free throw percentage (.785), while Wagner leads all players in the conference at the stripe (.894). The Green and Gold also sits tied for first in 3-point field goals per game (7.3) and is third in 3-point percentage (.327). A big reason for those stats? Casey, who has been a serious spark for W&M from behind the arc. The Tennessee native is third in the conference from distance (.389) and third in 3-pointers per game (2.8). But keep an eye on Rebekah Frisby-Smith from range, too. She drained a career-high five triples at N.C. A&T (2/12/23) and, since January, has hit at least two treys in 11 of 14 games.- Speaking of Frisby-Smith, her breakout season continues. Her 18 points at Elon (2/10/23) not only marked a career-high but was the third time she's reset that particular mark this year. She followed up with 17 at N.C. A&T, her seventh double-digit scoring effort of the year. But it isn't just scoring that's helped Frisby-Smith become integral to the Tribe's lineup. In W&M's last five wins, she's hauled in an average of 6.2 rebounds and dished out two or more assists three times.- OT? That's A-OK with the Tribe. The Green and Gold's 84-74 OT victory at Elon (2/10/23) marked the fourth time W&M has used extra time to decide a game this year. It's also the first time in the program's 100-plus-year history that the team has won four games in OT in a single season.- This month's North Carolina road trip didn't just see the Tribe grab two big-time victories. Several Tribe athletes also had career-best performances. At Elon (2/10/23), Casey recorded her fifth game with 30-plus points while also dishing out a career-high seven assists. Frisby-Smith added her best with 18 points, freshman Kayla Rolph chipped in 13 points in her first collegiate start, and junior Caitlin Wingertzahn hauled in 11 rebounds. Then, at N.C. A&T (2/12/23), freshman Alexa Mikeska finished with a career-high eight assists, while junior Lanni Brown recorded her highest-ever scoring effort with 11 points.- On the road again, and that's a good thing. The Tribe is 4-for-4 in its last four contests away from Kaplan Arena. W&M has shot over 42% in each of those games, including a blistering 51.9% at N.C. A&T (2/12/23). And, on average, those wins have come by a margin of 10.2 points.- Wagner and Casey have taken advantage of every moment this season. Often quite literally. The preseason All-CAA First-Team tandem sits top-10 in the conference in minutes (Casey: 34.7, Wagner: 33.6) and is also top-5 in points per game (Casey: 18.0, Wagner: 16.3) and top-10 in 3-point field goals per game (Casey: 2.8, Wagner: 2.0). Nationally, Casey is 57th in 3-point percentage (.389), 25th in 3-pointers per game, and 30th in total 3-pointers (72).  

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