WILLIAMSBURG — Looking to avoid falling below .500 in CAA play, William & Mary women’s basketball cruised to a wire-to-wire win over Northeastern, 71-51, on Friday at Kaplan Arena.
Four players finished the evening in double figures for the hosts, with Bella Nascimento’s 20 leading the charge. Cassidy Geddes (17), Natalie Fox (11) and Anahi-Lee Cauley (10) rounded out the quartet who scored 10-plus for the Tribe.
The performance was Nascimento’s league-leading 10th game with 20-plus in CAA play, while the 11 for Fox was a new career-high.
The matchup was all W&M (11-15, 8-7 CAA) from the opening tap, with a Cauley steal and a Geddes layup getting the Tribe on the board 30 seconds in. That lead quickly ballooned to 10-2 after back-to-back scores by Fox and Nascimento with 6:43 to play in the first.
W&M continued to push forward with Geddes scoring seven of the Tribe’s last 10 points in the frame to hold a 25-12 lead after one while shooting 11-for-15 from the field.
The 25 in the first quarter is the Tribe’s most points scored in an opening frame, or any quarter for that matter, this season. The effort replaces W&M’s 23-point fourth quarter at Northeastern in January.
The Tribe kept the scoring pace up early in the second with a Geddes triple pushing it to 34-17 with 7:26 remaining in the half.
The Huskies (2-22, 1-14 CAA) showed their most signs of life all night in response, going on a 9-1 run to make it a 35-26 game at the 2:22 mark.
W&M would close the half strong, however, with Fox making a layup and Nascimento converting a 3-point play to give the Tribe a 40-26 lead at the break.
Fox would come out of halftime leading the charge for the Green and Gold, scoring the hosts first six points to extend the lead to 47-26. From there the Tribe would rely on solid defense for the remainder of the quarter, holding Northeastern to just eight points in the frame to lead 55-34.
Following a Cauley jumper to cap an 8-2 W&M start to the fourth, the Tribe would never look back, coasting to a 71-51 win that ended a four-game losing streak. With the victory the Tribe also earned a season sweep of the Huskies.
The Tribe finished the evening shooting 46.6% from the floor while going 4-for-15 from deep. Northeastern posted marks of 39.1% and 1-for-12 respectively while being forced into 22 turnovers by the Tribe.
Five different W&M players picked up four-plus rebounds, with Fox and Cauley’s five leading the way in what was a 37-29 advantage on the glass. Fox, Kayla Rolph, Geddes and Nascimento all added three assists to tie for the team high.
Up Next
The Tribe wraps up the home part of its schedule by hosting Hofstra at 1 p.m. on FloCollege for Senior Day. Fans are encouraged to wear black for what is a “blackout” game, with the first 100 students receiving free shirts.
