by Rachel Rosten
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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. - In what was their best
overall effort of the season, Williams women's basketball (10-5,
0-1) fell just short in a heartbreaking 65-62 conference loss to
Bowdoin College (10-4, 1-0). Despite losing last season's
Division III Player of the Year to graduation, the Polar Bears
certainly know how to win. They hit their shots when it
mattered, and those big plays were able to counteract a very solid
performance by the Ephs who were looking to break their twelve game
losing skid against their conference foes from up north.
"This was by far our best effort of the season," said Williams
head coach Pat Manning. "Our goal is always to get better
every single day, and today we raised our game to another
level. We're always focusing on the process, and learning to
compete at this level. This was a victory tonight even though
the scoreboard does not show it."
The opening minutes of play certainly foreshadowed all that was to
come. Williams looked strong on both the defensive and
offensive ends, and Mika Peterman's sharp shooting helped propel
the Ephs to an early advantage midway into the first frame.
Ahead by two five minutes into regulation, Peterman unleashed from
behind the arc. Two consecutive three-point shots, plus an
impressive left hand hook in the paint by Jessica Harris, gave
Williams a 14-8 lead at the 14:08 mark. Peterman's hot hand
continued, and another shot from three-point range gave the Ephs
what would be the largest lead by the team on the night at nine
points, 24-15.
Bowdoin looked flustered on their offensive possessions, but a
last-second prayer from Caitlin Hynes seemed to wake up the
team. With the shot clock about to hit zero, Hynes threw up a
shot three feet behind the arc hoping to atleast nick the rim and
avoid a shot-clock violation. The surprising three points
brought Bowdoin within three points of the lead. Late in the
half, the Polar Bears began to find holes in the Williams defense.
Alexa Kaubris hit a wide open three to grab the lead, 26-24, with
5:40 left in the half. Bowdoin headed into the locker room
ahead by two, 30-28.
Bowdoin shot a consistent 40.0% from the floor in both frames, but
always seemed to be right on the money at the worst times for
Williams. A few more wide open shots from Bowdoin allowed
them to build a small five point lead in the early going of the
second period. After a Williams timeout, Peterman narrowed
the lead with ease on their first offensive possession back on the
floor. A few minutes later the Eph guard struck gold again,
and a Harris put back at the 11:15 mark saw Williams within one
point of Bowdoin, 44-43. Taylor Shea capped off a 9-0 run
with a hook shot in the lane. Now ahead 45-44, Williams would
see their last lead of the game.
Bowdoin countered with a 16-5 run, and with five minutes to play
Williams could have easily bowed out of contention. The Ephs
did no such thing, and responded with a 7-1 run to bring themselves
back within four points with 1:32 on the clock. Harris drove inside
to get the home team within three of the lead with forty three
seconds to play. Williams mounted another solid defensive
effort on Bowdoin's next possession, but Jill Anelauskas maneuvered
past the defense for a lay up with the shot clock winding down.
With eleven seconds in regulation, Peterman showed no signs of
cooling off and drained a deep three-pointer in front of her bench
to pull Williams within two, 64-62. The Ephs fouled on the
inbounds play to put the Polar Bears on the line and into the
bonus. Kaubris hit the first shot, but missed the
second. The ball was deflected by a Bowdoin player and went
out of bounds. Williams would have an opportunity to tie the
game with a three-pointer.
Niki Savageau brought the ball up court with 8.8 seconds on the
clock. Looking for either Peterman or Chessie Jackson to take
the three, the point guard could not find an open passing
lane. Savageau looked for a moment as if she might pull up
and take the shot herself, but chose to do otherwise.
Anelauskas intercepted the attempted pass to Peterman as time
expired with the Polar Bears ahead, 65-62.
"We [Williams] challenged them," continued Manning. "They
really went after it though, and hit the big shots when they had
to. They just hit everything when they were open."
Peterman finished the night shooting 6-of-7 from three-point range
to total 18 points. Chessie Jackson was quiet from her usual
spot behind the arc, but had a solid game with 11 points.
Harris recorded a double-double in the first half with 10 points
and 11 rebounds. She ended the game with 17 points and 15
boards. Taylor Shea chipped in with 9 points.
Bowdoin counteracted a 47-31 deficit on the glass with a solid
outing at the charity stripe. Shooting only a mediocre 68
percent, the Polar Bears headed to the line 25 times and hit
seventeen. Williams managed to get to the free throw line
only nine times, and made only four. Four players scored in
double figures for Bowdoin. Hynes tallied 15 points, while
Anlauskas had 15 points and 7 rebounds. Colleen Sweeney
contributed 12 points and Maria Noucas added 11 points.
Williams will look to pick up their first conference victory
tomorrow against Colby at 3:00 p.m. in Chandler Gym.
