William & Mary crashed the national basketball party this week, and it’s not ready to leave.
The women’s basketball team is bucking expectations at every turn. In less than a week’s time, the Tribe claimed a CAA championship, its first NCAA Tournament bid and its inaugural win in the Big Dance.
The latter came Thursday night in Austin, Texas, when it defeated High Point 69-63 in a battle of 16 seeds in the First Four of the NCAAs. The Tribe advances to the first round of the Big Dance on Saturday, where it faces top-seeded Texas in the Longhorns home arena.
“I want to give a special shoutout to everybody’s bracket that we busted today,” William & Mary coach Erin Dickerson Davis said gleefully after the game.
The team is soaking up every bit of the NCAA Tournament experience. Fans lined up outside the team hotel Thursday to give the players, coaches and staff a proper sendoff. They cheered them on as they headed to the bus while the pep band played.
At the arena, a lively fan section filled the seats behind the Tribe’s bench and were applauding loudly throughout. President Katherine A. Rowe was one of the most vocal, leading cheers and showing excitement with each significant moment.
The contest was played before a national television audience on ESPN2. Hundreds of fans gathered at a watch party at the Sadler Center on the school’s campus and chanted “We want Texas!” as the final seconds ticked down.
The players gushed over the unforgettable experience, from the sights and sounds at the team hotel to the arena and the actual game result itself. They were the underdogs against the Big South champion Panthers, but they overcame the odds once again.
“I will definitely always remember this team, my teammates, and just the excitement everyone has to be able to play in this environment and do all of these fun things,” said freshman forward Natalie Fox ’28, who thrived in the low post with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
“Being able to spend all this time together, it’s been a great experience.”
William & Mary might be an NCAA Tournament newcomer, but it showed admirable poise under duress, particularly in the fourth quarter when it made all 10 of its foul shots while holding off a late High Point charge.
With the game still in the balance, Rowe stomped and started a “Let’s Go Tribe” cheer. Rowe implored the William & Mary faithful to get on their feet, and they did.
“It’s mind-blowing,” Dickerson Davis said of the support. “Some fans came to our sendoff and were giving us hugs. People that we had never met before, alumni that flew in from all over the country. It was so special, and I’m glad we were able to do this for them.”
‘It was insane’
When the final buzzer sounded, the players on the court sprinted toward the bench on the other side, some jumping into the arms of their teammates. Dickerson Davis hugged her assistants before going through the handshake line.
She was whisked over to press row, where she donned a headset microphone for a national TV interview with the ESPN2 announcers. ESPN’s camera was right in front of her, as were an assortment of others capturing the moment.
“It was insane,” Dickerson Davis said. “The camera is in your face, and you see these moments on ESPN after games. To be a part of it, for my kids to be up there with the March Madness signage in the back, is just so crazy to me. I’m so elated. I’m so filled with joy and pride, I could cry… again.”
William & Mary steps up to yet another level of competition Saturday when it takes on the mighty Longhorns in front of what should be a spirited crowd in their 10,763-seat home venue, as well as another national ESPN2 television audience.
The university will host a watch party at Kaplan Arena with doors opening at 9:15 p.m.
It’ll be another unforgettable milestone for the university, as it soaks in every historic accomplishment.
“We’re excited to step on this floor again. It’s another opportunity to play basketball, which we all love and which we are here to do,” said guard Bella Nascimento ’25, who scored a game-high 24 points.
As the Tribe have learned this week, however, the happenings on the court are only part of the NCAA Tournament experience. This is about making lifelong memories for themselves and the William & Mary faithful.
“I do want them to embrace this. I want them to have a good time. You’re about to play against a team that, respectfully to every other basketball coach, should get to the Final Four. They’re an amazing team,” Dickerson Davis said.
“It’s going to be such a fun time, a fun environment. I have to assume it is going to be wild in here, and so to be able to have that kind of experience, how could you be mad?”
Nathan Warters, Assistant Director of Media Relations