William & Mary women's basketball routs Chowan 89-48 in season opener

William & Mary women's basketball opened its season with an 89-48 win over Chowan on Monday at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, improving the Tribe to 1-0 at home. A crowd of 951 watched.

How it unfolded

The Hawks led after the first quarter, 20-19, but the Tribe took control from there. William & Mary outscored Chowan 21-10 in the second quarter, 25-8 in the third and 24-10 in the fourth. The Tribe's largest lead was 41 points.

Geddes and Dance lead the scoring

Cassidy Geddes led William & Mary with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added three steals. Monet Dance came off the bench for 17 points, going 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range. Natalie Fox had 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards, and blocked three shots. Denver Carlton also scored 11, and Ari Mercado added nine.

Skyla Mastronardi handed out a game-high seven assists to go with seven points. Jordyn Steindl scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting in 10 minutes.

Defense creates the gap

William & Mary forced 22 Chowan turnovers and turned them into 25 points. The Tribe had 14 steals to the Hawks' five and committed 13 turnovers. William & Mary also scored 52 points in the paint to Chowan's 14 and had 18 fast-break points to the Hawks' two.

The Tribe shot 35-of-71 from the field (49 percent) and 7-of-21 from three. Chowan shot 16-of-58 (28 percent) and 4-of-17 from deep. William & Mary won the rebounding battle 49-33, including 18 offensive rebounds.

The Tribe struggled at the line, hitting 12 of 22 free throws.

Hawks' leaders

Daneesha Briggs scored 13 points off the bench for Chowan, hitting three of her seven three-point attempts. Janiya Davis had seven points and a team-high four assists, and Yawmari Darden scored seven points with a team-high seven rebounds. Chowan committed 22 turnovers, six of them by Ja'Mya Muhammad.

Up next

William & Mary returns home to face Tennessee State on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. ET.