William and Mary (4-3, 1-1 CAA) started conference play off on the right foot last Saturday, beating the Hofstra Pride 63-56 behind strong performances from Sydney Wagner and Nyla Pollard. However, the Tribe’s defense broke down in the second game of the series, as the Pride put up the most points the Tribe had allowed all year en route to a 75-68 win.
The College would have loved to have gotten both Hofstra games, but that’s behind them now. This weekend is a big test to see where the Tribe stacks up with a good CAA team – the Delaware Blue Hens (5-1, 2-0 CAA), who are fresh off two big wins over Northeastern. In their first road trip of the conference season, Wagner and the Tribe will have to deal with Jasmine Dickey and the Blue Hens. Where will William and Mary stack up? We’ll have to see this weekend.
William and Mary Tribe at Delaware Blue Hens — Saturday, 1 p.m. // Sunday 1 p.m.
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Tale of the Tape
According to HerHoopStats, William and Mary is giving up 87.3 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 93rd in DI. The Tribe ranks 245th out of 340 teams in points per 100 possessions, with 84.3.
Meanwhile, the Blue Hens are scoring 100.5 points each 100 possessions (65th) and giving up 90.6 (146th). It’ll be a matchup of strength on strength this weekend – Delaware’s offense against W&M’s defense.
Projected Starters
W&M: G Sydney Wagner (RJr.), G Nyla Pollard (Sr.), G Chaniqwa Gilliam (So.), F Bailey Eichner (Sr.), C Gabby Rogers (Sr.) The Tribe will almost certainly stick with the starting lineup they went with in both Hofstra games.
Del: G Paris McBride (Jr.), G Chyna Latimer (RJr.), F Jasmine Dickey (Jr.), F Lizzie Oleary (Sr.), F Ty Battle (RJr.) The Blue Hens have started this quintet every game so far this year. And it’s worked for them, as they’ve gotten off to a quick start, winning five of their first six.
What to Watch For
How else am I supposed to start “What to Watch For” than talking about Sydney Wagner. What a year she’s having so far. Wagner is currently 31st in the country with 20.9 points per game, and she’s doing it on decent efficiency too – she’s shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 39.7 percent from behind the arc. That comes out to an effective field goal percentage of 57.3, which ranks in the 89th percentile of all DI. If there’s one area where she’s maybe been a little underwhelming, it’s been taking care of the ball; Wagner is currently averaging 3.6 turnovers a game, which is not what your want from your primary ballhandler. But considering how much the ball is in her hands (a sky-high usage rate of 29.6 percent), she might not be as careless with the ball as the raw number looks like: her turnover rate is 17 percent, which means she turns it over on 17 percent of plays. She does better on that front that either of the team’s other primary ball-handlers (Bre Bellamy has a 26.5 percent turnover rate, while Chaniqwa Gilliam’s is at a terrible, no-good, very bad 32.8 percent).
My colleagues at No Bid Nation and I have been calling all season for somebody else to step up and help carry the scoring load for Wagner. Last weekend, Nyla Pollard heeded the call and averaged 16.5 points in the series against Hofstra. Her 21 points in the first contest Saturday payed off, as the Tribe beat the Pride 63-56. Saturday saw a bunch more auxiliary scoring – Pollard had 12, Bailey Eichner and Emma Krause each chipped in with eight, Gilliam and freshman Lanni Brown each scored five – but the defense failed them in a 75-68 loss. Regardless, if the Green and Gold is to make a jump into the top half of the CAA this season, more scoring performances like Sunday are going to have to occur. There aren’t going to be many times like Saturday where one player goes off to help Wagner. It’s going to have to be a team effort – finding eight points here, five points there, maybe somebody comes off the bench and hits a couple threes. If they can count on a couple people chipping in every game, they’ll be in good shape.
On the Delaware side of things, it all revolves around Jasmine Dickey. Dickey, a junior do-it-all forward, was an All-CAA Second Team selection last year as a sophomore and preseason All-CAA First Team pick this year. And so far, she’s lived up to the hype, averaging 22.8 points and 8 boards on just absolutely massive usage. She’s taken over 20 shots from the field in four of the team’s six games, and considering how much she’s shooting, her efficiency is actually quite impressive – she’s shooting 46.6 percent. The key to beating this Delaware team is simple: make other people beat you.
That’s not saying those other players can’t beat you – Delaware has three other players (Ty Battle, Paris McBride, and Tyi Skinner) that average in double-figures. Battle is the inside presence for this Blue Hens team, averaging 11.6 and 11.4 in D-I games. McBride is the starting point guard, who distributes well but will also shoot when she gets the opportunity, as she’s hitting over 50 percent of her treys. And Skinner is a freshman guard who comes off the bench and can score from inside the arc or from long distance. Any of these players can burn the Tribe, so it’s going to be a difficult ask. But if William and Mary plays defense like I know we can, both games this weekend could be barn burners.