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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – The storyline was
eerily similar. The stage was set, Williams versus
Amherst, with the Lord Jeffs entering Chandler nationally ranked
and undefeated.
Nearly one year ago, on January 26, 2008, the Ephs ended their
archrival's perfect season in a stunning 64-59
victory.
In the first half of today's contest, Williams
seemed poised to achieve the same feat but a quick turnaround by
Amherst in the second frame terminated hopes of a repeat stunner.
An inspiring defensive effort from the Ephs
(5-8) in the first half saw the home team trail the seventh-ranked
Amherst Lord Jeffs (12-0, by only three at the break,
25-22. It took just five minutes after the
second-half whistle for the Lord Jeffs to mount a twenty-point
advantage. The Ephs could not recover, falling
to Amherst, 76-46.
Williams forced turnover after turnover in the
early going, but often failed to convert on the offensive
end. A 27.4 shooting-percentage from the floor
prevented the Ephs from building a more formidable lead, including
a poor 1-8 effort from behind the arc.
William's defense in the paint plagued their efforts as it
has done all season long. Amherst continue to
capitalize under the basket, while rarely taking outside jumpers.
The Ephs traded baskets with their opponent
before taking the lead at the ten-minute mark.
Chessie Jackson nailed a three from the top of key for a four-point
advantage and the Ephs largest, and only, lead of the
night. Amherst tied the game back up with 7:20,
and the game resumed its back and forth scoring until the
break.
Jackson, the Ephs' second leading scorer
with 14.5 points per game, picked up her third foul with 52 seconds
to play in the first period and was forced to sit for the tail end
of the first twenty minutes. Just twenty seconds
into the second half, Jackson picked up her fourth foul seeing even
more limited action.
Lisa Jaris was whistled for her fourth foul at 13:43 of the second
frame, leaving Williams inside defense in even more
trouble. She fouled out with six minutes left on
the clock.
“We were solid in the first half,”
said Ephs head coach Pat Manning. “We
rebounded well, but our offense had not gotten into the flow of
things. We wanted to keep the same defensive
intensity in the second half and push the pace.”
Instead of picking up the offense in the
second half, the Ephs let their defense fall apart as well,
allowing Amherst to run away with the game. In
one minute of play, Amherst picked up a ten-point lead, and then
doubled their advantage in the next three
minutes.
“It was disappointing that when Amherst
went on a run we folded,” continued
Manning. “It happened so quickly, and was
a lack of mental toughness. That we did not
respond as a team was most frustrating.”
Amherst' Jaclyn Daigneault scored a
game-high 23 points, and grabbed 11 boards for a
double-double. Sarah
Leyman followed with 19 points. Jackson led the
Ephs with 13 points, while Taylor Shea chipped in 7
points.
“We're back at square one,”
said Manning.
“It's back to basics. We were on a
high last week after playing so well, and now our last two games
have been poor performances. We need to regroup,
start over, and keep fighting.”
Williams will travel to Wesleyan for the first
conference game this Tuesday. Game time is set
for 7:30 p.m.
