Box Score
Photo Gallery
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – The Williams
women's basketball team has been striving for forty minutes
of consistent defense all season long, and tonight the Ephs finally
accomplished that goal. Using a two-three zone
to force tough outside shots from the opposition, Williams (2-4)
powered past RPI (5-2), 77-58, to pick up their second win of the
season and end a four game skid.
“This was definitely our best defensive
effort of the season,” said Ephs head coach Pat
Manning. “We felt that our record was not
reflective of the type of team we are. In all
those games we had a chance to win, and our defense let us
down. Tonight we were determined not to let that
happen.”
Williams jumped out to the early lead, 16-6,
nearly six minutes into the opening whistle.
Freshman Lisa Jaris came off the bench to score two consecutive lay
ups that gave the Ephs their largest first half lead at twelve
points with twelve minutes on the clock. They
allowed RPI to creep back into first half play though, leading by
only four points at the break, 32-28.
The Ephs built off the momentum of their solid
defensive sequences and turned up the intensity in the second
period. Williams
regained a more comfortable twelve-point lead off two
three-pointers from Kelsey Ham and Jill Greenberg, and began to
settle into an offensive rhythm. The home team
was lights out in the second frame, shooting 57.6% from the
floor. The Ephs led by as many as twenty-three
points, and closed out the Redhawks, 77-58.
Williams kept the opposition to only
fifty-eight points, their lowest allowed points total of the
season. Their zone
defense successfully forced RPI to throw up tough shots, and the
Redhawks shot only 29.4% from the floor. Their
effort from behind the arc was equally poor, as RPI let off 29
shots from downtown and hit only three.
Whitney Coleman scored a game-high 19 points
for the Redhawks.
Teammate Elizabeth Barker notched a double-double, tallying 12
points and 14 rebounds. Ellen High chipped in 13
points in the loss.
Mika Peterman led the effort for Williams,
netting 18 points.
Jill Greenberg scored 14 points, while Kelsey Ham notched
twelve. Chessie
Jackson was solid on the glass, grabbing 9 boards and scoring 11
points. In her first
college start, freshman Ana Rodriguez-Villa contributed 8 rebounds.
The Ephs hope that tonight's win will
put their season on the right path.
“In each of those game we lost, we
either had the lead or were tied with about eight minutes or less
to play,” commented Manning. “We did
not rebound, or have defensive stops at critical
moments. We felt it was only a matter of time
until we turned things around.”
Williams will travel to play Hamilton on
Saturday at 3:00.
