William & Mary is dancing its way to a tango with No. 1 Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating High Point 69-63 in the first Four Thursday night.
The Tribe secured the school’s first tournament victory, led by senior guard Bella Nascimento’s team-high 24 points— her third consecutive 20-point game. The game was won in the paint with the Tribe out-rebounding High Point 45-29.
Freshman Natalie Cox recorded her second career double-double, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
‘We’ve seen everything this season. We’ve been down a lot. We just kept saying nothing can tear us down,’ head coach Erin Dickerson Davis told ESPN.William & Mary is one of the most unique stories in the country, already setting many tournament firsts.
The second oldest institution in the country, founded in 1693, saw its women’s basketball team, established in 1919, finally capture a CAA championship after 106 seasons, including 41 at the Division I level.
Davis is in her third season leading the team. After two strong seasons with double-digit conference tournament wins, the team managed only eight victories this year. At 15-18, they became the first team with a losing record to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Incarnate Word in 2022.
Despite numerous setbacks, the Tribe had plenty of opportunities to throw in the towel. They opened the season with a three-game losing streak and endured three more similar slumps along the way.
The Tribe finished the regular season by losing seven of its last eight games, earning the team the No. 9 seed in the Coastal Athletic Association tournament.
That’s when a speech from Nascimento turned the tide, sparking an improbable four-game run over four days that culminated in a thrilling 66-63 CAA championship victory over Campbell.
No. 16 William & Mary, after earning their first-ever NCAA tournament victory, are rewarded with a matchup against No. 1 Texas at 9:45 p.m. ET Saturday night. ESPN2 will broadcast the game.
Only one 16-seed (Harvard, 1998) has ever beaten a No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA tournament. Let’s see if The Tribe can continue making history.