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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. \u2014 Looking to win its third straight game, William & Mary women’s basketball will conclude a four-game road trip at American University this Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. from the Bender Arena in Washington, D.C. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
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\u2022 The Matchup
\nWilliam & Mary will return to the nation’s capital to face American at the Bender Arena. The Tribe is vying for its third straight win overall and on the road. This is the last of a four-game road trip for the Green & Gold.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Opponent
\nAmerican is coming off a 55-48 loss to Drexel on Wednesday, their sixth straight defeat. Charlotte Tuhy has been dominant inside, averaging a double-double with 10.1 ppg and 11.9 rpg, the latter ranking sixth in the country.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Last Time Out \u2022 Major Upset – The first win over a power-conference opponent since Clemson in 2015. \u2022 Dropping Dimes \u2022 Pick-pocketing \u2022 Money Mo \u2022 Cass Doubles Down \u2022 Sultan’s of Swat \u2022 Nat on the Glass \u2022 Block Party \u2022 O-Boarding \u2022 Sharing the Rock \u2022 Back for More \u2022 Bright Lights=Big Shots \u2022 Tika and Nat Team Up \u2022 Ice in Mo’s Veins \u2022 Comeback Kids \u2022 Tribe on TV \u2022 Excellence From E \u2022 Closing the Deal
\nFour players scored in double-figures to lead W&M to a 67-64 upset win over Wake Forest. The Tribe outscored the Deacons 28-9 in the second frame before holding on in the second half to win. Jana Sallman<\/a> led the way with 17 points while Natalie Fox<\/a> added 16. Alexa Mikeska<\/a> also stuffed the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists and four steals.<\/p>\n
\nW&M’s win over Wake Forest marked a series of firsts.<\/p>\n
\n– The first win over Wake Forest in school history.
\n– The first non-conference road winning streak since 2020.
\n– The first loss for Wake Forest, previously the ACC’s lone remaining unbeaten team.<\/p>\n
\nCassidy Geddes<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n
\nThe 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.<\/p>\n
\nMonet Dance<\/a> recorded her second career 20-point game at TSU, shooting 7-of-15 from the floor and hitting all seven of her foul shots.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nCassidy Geddes<\/a> 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<\/a>, Alexa Mikeska<\/a> and Tika Sallman as the four players on the Tribe’s roster to have double-doubles in their career.<\/p>\n
\nThrough 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<\/a> with seven.<\/p>\n
\nAfter a strong freshman season, Natalie Fox<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n
\nTika Sallman’s five blocks against ODU was a career-high and the most by a Tribe player since Kayla Beckwith<\/a> against Stony Brook on March 9, 2024.<\/p>\n
\nThe 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.<\/p>\n
\nSharing the ball has been a calling card of Erin Dickerson Davis<\/a>‘ 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.<\/p>\n
\nNo 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>, a former Patriot League All-Rookie selection, from Navy and Ice Dos Santos from Odessa College (JUCO) via the transfer portal.<\/p>\n
\nW&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.<\/p>\n
\nNatalie Fox<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n
\nMonet Dance<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nW&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.<\/p>\n
\nNaturally, 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.<\/p>\n
\nNo other coach in William & Mary women’s basketball history has had the success that Erin Dickerson Davis<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n
\nUnder Erin Dickerson Davis<\/a> the Tribe is 25-9 when leading at halftime.<\/p>\n