William & Mary women capture school's first NCAA Tournament berth in men's or women's basketball

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's fair to assume King William III and Queen Mary II never filled out a bracket.

Now basketball players at William & Mary are finally part of the big one.

William & Mary — established by royal charter in 1693 — reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in men's or women's basketball when its women's team defeated Campbell 66-63 on Sunday to win the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament.

Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, William & Mary's history as a school stretches back to the 17th Century. The women's basketball program is in its 105th season. The Tribe became, at No. 9, the lowest-seeded team to win this conference tournament. It was William & Mary's first time in the final since a loss to Old Dominion in 1993.

William & Mary is one of six teams set to make its first appearance in the women's NCAA Tournament. The others are Arkansas State, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Mason, Grand Canyon and UC San Diego. Four teams are headed to the men's tournament for the first time: High Point, Omaha, SIU Edwardsville and UC San Diego.

“We talked about belief since we got here,” William & Mary coach Erin Dickerson Davis said during the televised postgame celebration. "You have to believe. Nobody else can believe for you. Everybody in the circle has to believe."

William & Mary now enters the 68-team field with a 15-18 record. The Tribe had lost seven of their last eight games before winning four in a row in the CAA Tournament.

Bella Nascimento scored 33 points in the title game.

“This is a surreal moment to everybody in this gym right now,” Nascimento said. “It's the first time we made history in a long time.”

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