ELON, N.C. (Courtesy of William & Mary) — For the first time in program history, William & Mary women’s hoops has won their first three road conference games in a season, as the Tribe beat Elon 62-43 on Sunday afternoon.
Bella Nascimento earned her first career double-double, leading the way with 21 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, for the visiting Tribe.
W&M (7-8, 3-1 CAA) sprinted out to an early 8-4 lead when Nascimento hit a jumper with 6:40 on the clock.
The Tribe then used stifling defense to close out the first frame, not allowing the Phoenix a field goal over the final seven minutes.
Rebekah Frisby-Smith and Nascimento closed out the Tribe spurt with baskets towards the end of the quarter to make it 17-6 W&M after 10 minutes.
A transfer guard from Manhattan, Nascimento finished with nine points in the first quarter alone to pace W&M. The Tribe forced nine Elon (5-12, 1-3 CAA) turnovers in the first.
The host Phoenix would not be deterred however, making it a ballgame in the second quarter, with Nylah Young and Anahi-Lee Cauley each pouring in four points to make up all the Tribe’s scoring in the frame.
When halftime had hit the Tribe had turned it over nine times themselves in the second 10 minutes, holding a 25-20 lead.
After a slow start to the third offensively, Nascimento scored 5 points in the span of 30 seconds to expand the Green and Gold lead to 32-25 with 5:47 to go.
The Phoenix responded by getting it to a one possession game 90 seconds later at 34-31.
That was as close as the hosts would get, however, with the Tribe closing out the third on a 9-0 run over the last four minutes.
Frisby-Smith, who finished with 10 points on the afternoon, hit her first triple of the game, and Nascimento added a free throw, to give W&M a 12-point advantage with 10 minutes to play.
The lead would only continue to grow in the fourth quarter, with the Tribe hitting on 6-of-10 shots from the floor, half of which came from 3-point land.
Another Frisby-Smith 3-pointer pushed the Tribe lead to 19 and capped the run at 18-2 over the previous nine minutes.
Geddes, Nascimento and Monet Dance all scored down the stretch, leading to the 62-43 final and the Tribe’s third consecutive road win.
W&M shot 43% from the floor, aided by 52% shooting in the second half, while holding the Phoenix to 16-of-49 for 33%.
The 43% mark is the Tribe’s best performance in CAA play thus far.
Kayla Beckwith joined Nascimento with the cleanup effort on the glass, snagging eight boards with her eight points. The Tribe outrebounded Elon, 36-28.
Up Next
The Tribe is next in action on Friday, welcoming Delaware to Williamsburg. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on FloHoops in Kaplan Arena.
