Box
Score
TROY, NY- Three Ephs scored in double figures to lead the
Williams women's basketball team past Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, 70-55, for their second win of the season.
The offensive performances of Mika Peterman (19 points, 3
rebounds), Taylor Shea (17 points, 7 rebounds), and Chessie Jackson
(13 points, 5 rebounds) coupled with their first very strong
defensive effort of the season brings Williams' overall record to
an even 2-2. RPI falls to 2-4 on the season.
"Our goal at the beginning of the game was to play solid defense
for forty minutes," said Williams head coach Pat Manning. "It
was our best performance yet. We wanted to play two strong
halves, which we have not done all season, and tonight we did
that."
Early turnovers caused the Ephs to fall behind in the opening
minutes of play, and with twelve minutes left in the first half
Williams saw themselves down by nine points. The Ephs rattled
off nine straight points in a five-minute span to surge from behind
and tie the game at fifteen apiece.
The rest of the half saw Williams gradually build their lead,
and went ahead by as many as ten points with 3:04 remaining in the
first period. Peterman scored a lay-up with one second left
in the period to head into the locker room ahead by a score of
39-32.
Their first half recovery gave Williams all the momentum heading
into the second period, and Peterman built off her last second shot
to score ten straight points in a two-minute span. The junior
captain's offensive spark followed by a Shea jumper with 15:16 left
in regulation saw the Ephs go ahead 54-35. It marked the
largest lead of the night at nineteen. RPI would not get
within thirteen points of Williams for the rest of the game.
Manning credits many of their defensive efforts to Niki Savageau
(7 points, 2 assists) commenting, "Niki had a great game. She
got us going and pressure on the ball which really helped us
out."
Although RPI won the battle on the boards, 45-37, the Ephs defense
forced the Red Hawks to commit 24 turnovers and shoot only 29
percent from the floor. Williams also counteracted the
rebounding margin by shooting a strong 52 percent on the night.
Elizabeth Barker and Tory Lyons led the effort for RPI, scoring 15
and 12 points respectively. Barker recorded a double-double
with 14 rebounds.
Williams will host Lasell in the Williams Holiday Classic on
December 1 at 8:00. The winner of the University of
Maine-Farmington and Endicott game will face the Williams-Lasell
victor in the championship game on December 2.
