William & Mary women’s basketball relishes victory lap in first NCAA Tournament

Excellence

Members of the W&M women's basketball team embrace after a historic season leading to two games in the NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Logan Caldwell)

The final seconds ticked off William & Mary's NCAA Tournament setback to host Texas on Saturday night, setting off a celebration rarely seen from a losing team.

This wasn't a failure to advance for the W&M. It was a victory lap for a program that is clearly on the rise after a storybook run to the CAA Championship, its first trip to the Big Dance and its inaugural NCAA Tournament victory in a week's time.

"It was all joy," senior forward Anahi-Lee Cauley '25 said. "Yes, we lost, and I would have been way happier if we won, but I wouldn't have wanted to lose with any other team. We did not back down. We did not fold. We kept fighting, and we believed in one another."

Coach Erin Dickerson Davis talks with the team. (Photo by Logan Caldwell) The team takes the court to warm up. (Photo by Bethany Howker / Walt Middleton Photography) Monet Dance '27 runs onto the court. (Photo by Bethany Howker / Walt Middleton Photography) Cassidy Geddes '27 faces off with a player from Texas. (Photo by Bethany Howker / Walt Middleton Photography) Emma West '28 takes a shot. (Bethany Howker / Walt Middleton Photography) Coach E talks with Jana Sallman '27. (Photo by Bethany Howker / Walt Middleton Photography) Members of the team embrace their supporters at the end of the game. (Photo by Logan Caldwell) Kayla Beckwith '25 embraces President Katherine A. Rowe at the end of the game. (Photo by Logan Caldwell)

Texas-sized smiles stretched across the faces of the players and coaches as they left the court to a rousing ovation from a raucous William & Mary fan section that included many of their closest family members and friends.

The team spent a few minutes cooling off in the locker room before reappearing on the court for a curtain call. The W&M faithful were the only fans remaining in the 10,763-seat Moody Center in Austin, Texas, which was near capacity a short time earlier for the top-seeded Longhorns 105-61 victory in the tournament's second round.

Afterward, the players joined their families in the stands, shared embraces and lapped up praise from their biggest fans. That cheering section swelled in recent days, as the university reveled in the seminal moment for W&M.

"To come into this environment, an NCAA Tournament game, and to see our fans standing up the entire game across from our bench, and to see the entire arena filled, it was such a mind-blowing experience to be here," said W&M head coach Erin Dickerson Davis. "For us to be able to compete against a team like Texas, it is just a testament to belief. I know you guys have heard me say it a million times. I'll say it again. I'll get it tattooed somewhere at some point, but that's it. That's what this has shown us."

Coming to fruition

The team's historic run was yet another way William & Mary has pushed the boundaries of achievement.

It's happening all over the university. In the last year alone, William & Mary announced the creation of the Batten School for Coastal & Marine Sciences, made possible by a transformative gift; broken ground on Robert M. Gates Hall, a hub for research and teaching backed by another generous donation; and ushered in the new School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics. In February, it was announced the university had reached Carnegie's R1 research designation, the highest possible in higher education.

And then there's athletics, with the women's basketball team offering the latest example of high-end accomplishment by school teams. The program feels this is just the beginning to make the W&M a powerful basketball entity and a springboard to more success for all of the university's athletics teams.

William & Mary fans, including President Katherine A. Rowe, cheer on the team in Texas. (Photo by Logan Caldwell) The W&M Pep Band members show their support through encouraging messages on signs. (Photo by Logan Caldwell) The W&M Cheerleaders support the team at the Texas game. (Photo by Logan Caldwell) The mascots for W&M and Texas pose for a photo together. (Photo by Logan Caldwell) Coach E takes a photo with the cheerleaders and pep band. (Photo by Logan Caldwell)

That will be made even more achievable with the opening of a new Athletics Complex that will include the 36,000-foot multi-use Mackesy Sports Performance Center. Dubbed The Mack, the facility will include strength and conditioning areas, study spaces, a sports medicine area, a full-sized basketball practice court and refurbished locker rooms.

"It's really, really cool to see everything kind of coming to fruition, all the plans that they had when I first got here actually being put into action and seeing everything get built up," fifth-year forward Kayla Beckwith '25 said.

"It's also something where it's like, 'Wow, you guys are finally understanding and seeing that William & Mary could be a school such as Stanford or Cal, or schools with high academics that also pays attention to athletics and just is an all-around good school through and through, whether it's academics or athletics."

Curtain call

Saturday's first-round clash with top-seeded Texas was a curtain call of sorts for a program that overcame long odds to achieve more than any basketball team in school history.

The successful run roused a flood of support from students, faculty, alumni and fans, many of whom made the trip to Austin, Texas, for the team's NCAA Tournament First Four win over High Point on Thursday, its first win ever in the Big Dance.

William & Mary fans cheer in Kaplan Arena while watching the game. (Photo by Tim Sofranko) W&M fans pose for a photo together while at a watch party in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Stephen Salpukas)

That group of devotees included William & Mary President Katherine A. Rowe, who led the cheering section throughout the weekend.

Afterward, Beckwith and Rowe shared a tight hug. Tears streamed down Beckwith's face as she repeated, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Those emotions continued to pour out as Beckwith hugged Director of Athletics Brian Mann.

"I had quite the experience here the past five years, and I can't thank President Rowe and AD Mann enough," Beckwith said. "When AD Mann came in, he listened to us. He listened to the wants and needs of the older women's basketball players. He put action to his words."

In addition to those who gathered in Texas, William & Mary faithful watched the game at a number of watch parties throughout the nation. Nearly 800 fans filled seats at Kaplan Arena alone to watch the game's nationally televised ESPN2 broadcast, the team's second national showing in three days. Highlights of the game were featured on ESPN's popular SportsCenter program, and national outlets covered the team's magical run, including USA Today and the Associated Press.

It was the final game for seniors Beckwith, Cauley, guard Bella Nascimento and forward Rebekah Frisby-Smith and an eye-opening experience for young rotation regulars like guards Monet Dance and Cassidy Geddes, two sophomores who grew into leadership roles throughout the historic season.

"It was amazing," Dance said. "It's going to be more motivation for us because we want to add more (championships and NCAA Tournament appearances). We want to keep building and adding."

Nathan Warters, Assistant Director of Media Relations

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