William & Mary never had a basketball team — men's or women's — compete in the NCAA Tournament until 2025, and the school has senior guard Bella Nascimento to thank.
The Tribe, which will play against High Point in Thursday's 9 p.m. ET play-in game, started 7-3 in Coastal Athletic Association play. But once they lost 59-58 in overtime to Drexel on Valentine's Day, they continued to lose eight of their last nine regular-season games.
Then, William & Mary made an historic run in the conference tournament to become the first team with a losing record to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Incarnate Word in 2022.