Let’s get going with a look at who’s back and who’s not for the Tribe. We’re continuing down to opening tip with our series that has thus far included JMU, Virginia, ODU and Liberty.
Goings
Marlena Tremba: Hard to put into words how much we’re going to miss this gritty guard from Vienna, who averaged a team-best 13.1 ppg last year and leaves Williamsburg as the program’s third-leading scorer in points (1,592) with 284 3-pointers (second in school history. She became the Tribe’s first all-tournament team selection at the CAA tournament since the 2000-01 season
Alex Masaquel: Honolulu native finished her career with 1,030 points and 680 rebounds, 144 assists, 81 blocks, and 172 steals; currently playing professionally in Ireland; a staple in the lineup who the Tribe will miss
Latrice Hunter: Started five times her senior season, averaging 5.2 ppg; Norfolk native played in all 31 games her senior year
Kasey Curtis: the senior forward made 13 starts and shot a team-best .588 FG percentage last season
Ali Engelhardt: the 6-1 forward remains at the school but is no longer on the roster after injuries derailed her sophomore season
Millette Green: After five seasons as an assistant at W&M, Green was hired in July to coach Division II Augusta University
Karen Bell: no longer the team’s director of operations
Comings
Libby Underwood: the 5-9 freshman is the all-time leading scorer from Portsmouth (NH) High with 1,253 points; all-state selection; gave a verbal commitment to Providence her junior year of high school; also considered offers from Brown and Boston University
Nyla Pollard: captain last year at Virginia Beach’s Princess Anne High; won four state titles at Princess Anne
Gabby Rogers: the 6-1 forward/center from Bishop Lynch High in Dallas averaged nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks in high school; played AAU for the Urban Heroes Elite and Texas Elite
Bailey Eichner: the 6-1 freshman guard/forward is perhaps the most athletic of the Tribe freshmen; 3-sport star who excelled at triple jump and volleyball at Cudahy High School in Wisconsin; named a team captain for her senior season and earned honorable mention all-state as a senior, averaging 12.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 2.8 steals
Harper Birdsong: the transfer from George Washington will be eligible for the 2018-19 season; the 5-10 guard hails from Nansemond-Suffolk High in Suffolk, where she amassed 2,051 points; three-time Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) State Player of the Year and first-team VISAA all-state selection.
Chanel Murchison: the 2013 Tribe graduate returns to the fold to assist coach Ed Swanson
Chelsie Schweers: Welcome to the Tribe, former LadySwish blogger! The former Christopher Newport legend is the state’s all-time leading scorer; has played professionally in Australia and Greece; hails from Hickory High in Chesapeake
After last season we almost wrote a post titled, “What a real coach does.” New coaches often spout rhetoric about changing culture and laying a foundation, but results often don’t match the talk. Unless you’re Swanson at William and Mary, who took over a floundering mess in 2013 and has since transitioned it one of the better programs in the state. W&M had plenty of talent before, Emily Correal and Kyra Kaylor, included, but consistency was hard to find. The program was at the bottom of the CAA before its resurrection, much of which it owes to last year’s senior class and Swanson, who has raised expectations and standards in Williamsburg.
W&M has been a fun team to watch the last couple of years. Last season, the Tribe tied a school record with 20 wins, won a CAA tournament game for the first time since 2009, and advanced to the CAA semifinals for the first-time since 2001. The Tribe won 11 straight games from Nov. 18 to Jan 2, which is the longest single-season streak in school history.
They didn’t earn a postseason bid unlike two years ago when they were in the WNIT for the first time ever.
Now the challenge is in continuing what’s been put in place. The Tribe has been picked to finish third in the league behind James Madison and Elon. The good news starts with the return of Abby Rendle, who Swanson regards as the best defensive center in the CAA; Jenna Green, the captain already demonstrating assistant-coach tendencies; and Bianca Boggs, who Swanson touts as among the best players in the league if healthy.
“I still think Bianca Boggs, if she plays the way she does in practice, she’s a top 10 player in the league,” he said. “She’s playing with a sense of urgency. She understands our top two scorers have graduated. She’s a lot more aggressive in practice. I’m really excited about the way she’s playing.”
Rendle is 52 blocks shy of the CAA’s record for blocks held by Elena Delle Donne. That said, Swanson would like her to focus less on blocks and become more of a presence on the low block in terms of offense.
“If we talk about Abby’s blocks all the time, our guards are letting guards drive by them,” he said. “We want to be better on our perimeter defense.”
Swanson isn’t as worried about points and rebounds as he is about replacing intangibles and the consistency Tremba and Masaquel provided. He’s look for Green to be a louder voice, and he’s relying on Misha Jones for her leadership capabilities. Jones, a writer herself, is healthy after an Achilles injury suffered last season.
Five freshmen are on the roster; we figure two might play an early role. Swanson projects Pollard as a possible starter; the Virginia Beach native comes from one of the winningest high school programs in the nation playing under Darnell Dozier at Princess Anne The second-team all-region performer won four state titles at Princess Anne (Dozier is to high school as Geno is to college).
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s on the all-defensive team multiple times in her career,” Swanson said.
Underwood and Cox also shows early promise in practice and are good bets to replace some of that lost scoring. Rogers can play the 5 and step back and hit the 17-footer. Defense will be key; the Tribe was third in scoring defense in the CAA last season, tops in 3-point FG pct D and blocked shots.
W&M plays three of its first four on the road and opens at Howard on Nov. 11.