WILLIAMSBURG — After leading by as many as 17 in the first half, William & Mary women’s basketball withstood a Hampton comeback effort to earn a 66-58 win over the Pirates on Sunday at Kaplan Arena.
Freshman Cassidy Geddes opened the scoring for the Green and Gold 23 seconds into the game, and the Tribe were out to a 6-0 lead until Hampton (2-22, 2-12 CAA) finally got on the board with a jumper at the 5:37 mark.
The Pirates pulled within a pair, 8-6, with 2:45 on the clock before the W&M (14-11, 10-4 CAA) found its rhythm.
Nylah Young scored five consecutive points as the quarter wound down, with Anahi-Lee Cauley and Monet Dance chipping in two each, as the Tribe led 17-10 after the first.
Young, a transfer from Hampton to W&M this season, was a problem all afternoon long for her former team, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and 20th of her career.
The Tribe offense kept clicking at the start of the second frame, with Geddes scoring off a turnover and Young immediately following with her first made 3-pointer of the season to make it 24-12 W&M.
Bella Nascimento provided the Tribe with four consecutive points after the quarter’s media timeout, converting in the paint with 3:35 remaining in the half and the score 29-16.
Cate Carlson’s fast break layup two minutes later gave the Green and Gold their largest lead of the day, 33-16, as they would head to the half with a 33-19 lead.
W&M’s sizeable halftime edge came despite going just 1-of-9 from deep in the first 20 minutes. The Tribe countered their perimeter struggles by hitting on 10-of-18 from inside the arc and going 10-for-13 from the line in the half.
Young led the Tribe with 10 at the break, with Cauley chipping in a quiet eight points thanks to 4-of-6 shooting from the foul line.
The Lady Pirates came out of the locker room determined to not go quietly however, going on a 16-5 run and turning a 16-point deficit to five with 2:31 to play in the third.
Young hit a pair of free throws for the Tribe to put them up 44-37, but Hampton scored the final four points of the quarter, making it a 44-42 game after three.
W&M still shot 4-of-9 from the field in the third but was plagued by eight turnovers. Those eight Tribe mistakes led to 13 Hampton points as the Pirates shot a scorching 10-for-13 in the frame.
The Tribe cleaned up their play in the fourth and a Monet Dance deep two as the shot clock expired put W&M up 50-44 at the 5:40 mark. Hampton again responded, this time with back-to-back buckets, forcing a Tribe timeout in what was now a one possession game.
Young converted immediately inside following the timeout, but the Pirates counter-punched immediately to make it 52-50 before Geddes took over for the Tribe.
The freshman, who has had plenty of late game heroics in conference play, knocked down a triple followed by two free throws to bolster the W&M lead to 57-50 with 2:15 to go.
After multiple missed shots, the Pirates were forced to play the foul game down the stretch with Nascimento, Geddes and Dance all cashing in at the charity stripe, while Young added another layup to salt away a 66-58 win.
W&M finished the afternoon 20-for-48 from the floor for 42% and just 2-of-15 from three. The difference in the game came at the foul line, with the Tribe going 24-of-30 for 80% while the Pirates only got off 12 attempts making seven.
Hampton shot 25-of-63 from the floor and 1-for-10 from deep. The Tribe won the battle on the glass 39-30.
With four games remaining in the regular season the Tribe sits tied for fourth with Charleston in the CAA. The top four teams will earn a double-bye in the CAA Tournament.
Up Next
The Tribe continues to battle for positioning in the CAA standings as we hit the final stretch of the regular season. W&M will take on UNCW in Wilmington on Friday at 7 p.m. on FloHoops with a free audio broadcast on the Tribe Sports Network.
