By: Luca Gomez
William and Mary in the national spotlight for sports? That doesn’t sound like a strange concept to the Tribe Women’s Basketball team, who came all the way from the nine seed last year to win four straight games and play themselves into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The Tribe Women beat Campbell 66–63 to secure the CAA championship, which automatically got them a play-in spot in the tournament. When they reached the tournament, however, they not only made an appearance—they won a game. William & Mary beat High Point 69–63 to earn themselves the 16 seed. This is something that had never been done before in the program and had never been done in school history, as the men’s team has never made an appearance.
After doing so, they were heavily outmatched by a nationally contending, one-seeded Texas team who ended the Tribe’s season 105–61.
This year, the Tribe Women look to build upon the fantastic end of the season while also channeling the frustration they felt when losing to Texas. The team is returning Head Coach Erin Dickerson Davis for a fourth year, who has a winning record (49–46) and now a March Madness appearance and win to her name.
She is also the first coach in program history to win 15+ games in each of her first three seasons. Even prior to last season’s success, the school felt comfortable extending her as Head Coach through 2029 in August of 2024. She now looks to build on the team’s successes during the upcoming season.
William and Mary is the sixth-ranked team in the preseason by the CAA poll with 83 votes (for context, the first-place team, Charleston, received 139 votes). The defending champions being ranked sixth in the preseason poll will certainly be great bulletin-board material in the locker room, especially to the three starters returning from their championship run.
Six-foot-four sophomore forward Natalie Fox, out of Lagrangeville, NY, started five of six postseason games for the Tribe and recorded a double-double in March Madness during the High Point game. Junior guard Monet Dance, out of Roswell, GA, started all six postseason games and was a crucial piece of their championship run, averaging over 10 points per game and more than 30 minutes per game across all six.
Finally, junior guard Cassidy Geddes, out of Hickory, NC, will return; she scored 26 against CAA one-seed NC A&T to win in overtime. She has already received preseason second-team All-CAA honors and is looking to have an even greater season than last.
The team isn’t only looking to build its success with returning talent. In the offseason, the Tribe penned two new transfers. Junior guard Kyah Smith, a transfer from the Navy, returns to her home state of Virginia to join the Tribe Women. Aisha “Ice” Amaral Dos Santos, who is native to Brazil, is a transfer guard out of Odessa.
The team also brought in four new freshmen to complete its 2025 recruiting class: Jordyn Steindl, Amelia Basit, Dynasti Pierce, and Ari Mercado.
The Tribe continues its season this Wednesday at home against nationally-ranked Richmond. They will look to make a strong statement at home as underdogs, according to ESPN Analytics. They then get two games in a row at home to really find an identity as a team. Make sure to pack Kaplan Arena on November 12, 16, and 20, as those early games are as important to define a team as any.
The Tribe Women’s team has an opportunity to define itself as a staple here at William and Mary, and they don’t see any option but to seize it.
Photos courtesy of Tribe Athletics
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