RICHMOND — The William & Mary women’s basketball team dropped an 82-47 decision on Thursday night to Richmond at the Robins Center. Bella Nascimento led the Tribe, and all scorers, with 16 points on the evening.
The Spiders showed why they are the reigning Atlantic 10 champions in the early going, bouncing out to a 10-3 lead just two minutes in and an Erin Dickerson Davis timeout.
That lead would grow to 12-3 before W&M (1-4, 0-0 CAA) found their grove offensively in the first. Nascimento knocked down a three before Rebekah Frisby-Smith scored four straight to make it 14-9 with 5:13 on the clock.
Nascimento would later score five more in the span of 40 seconds to cut the Richmond (5-0, 0-0 A-10) lead to 17-14 with 2:12 to go. The quarter would end with the Spiders up 18-16.
Nascimento would finish the frame with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with three triples.
Kayla Beckwith converted a layup in the second and it was 23-20 UR with 7:05 to play before Richmond rattled off the next dozen points.
Beckwith was the one who stopped the bleeding for the Tribe with a score at the two-minute mark, making it 35-22. The Spiders would lead at the half by 14, 38-24.
Richmond used 6-for-10 shooting and 4-of-6 from three in the second quarter to outscore the Tribe, who were 2-for-13, 20-8 in the frame.
W&M hung around at the start of the third, trading buckets early. Six consecutive points in the paint from Kayla Beckwith made it a 10-point game at the 7:14 mark, while later in the quarter a Nascimento free throw made the score 48-35 with 3:56 left.
The final four minutes of the quarter was where the Spider made their hay however, embarking on an 18-3 run that included a trio of 3-pointers to hold a 66-37 lead after the third.
The final stanza saw Frisby-Smith and Emma West each hit from behind the arc, the bucket for West was the first of her college career, but it was too little too late for the Tribe who dropped the contest 82-47.
Beckwith joined Nascimento in double figures, scoring 10 for the second consecutive game. The graduate senior also contributed a game-high eight rebounds while Alexa Mikeska dished out a team-high four assists.
The Spiders, who came into the night a top 10 shooting team in the nation, improved on their percentages, posting 59.2% from the floor and 12-of-25 from three for 48%. W&M was 27.7% from the floor and 5-of-23 from deep.
Up Next
The Tribe will travel to another Commonwealth foe, Old Dominion on Tuesday. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. in Norfolk on ESPN+ with a radio broadcast on the Tribe Sports Network.
