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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Williams first-year Jill Greenberg posted
the first triple-double in the recent history of the program
Sunday, leading the Ephs to an upset of Bates in the championship
game of its own Williams Winter Classic, 84-63.
The victory improved the Ephs to 5-6 overall, while Bates fell
to 8-3. The Ephs are at Keene State Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m.
contest.
"We have so many young players, but I think we've finally caught
on with how to play defense and how to play as a team," Ephs head
coach Pat Manning said. "We feel like we're in a good place right
now, that things are starting to come together."
Williams senior Mika Peterman, who had 19 points in the victory,
was named the tournament's MVP, while Greenberg was named
all-tournament. Bates' Lauren Yanofsky, who scored 14 points, was
also named all-tournament, as was Val Beckwith, who netted 13.
Greenberg finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in
the victory, while sophomore Chessie Jackson added 20 points and
seven rebounds.
"Jill played with such confidence," Manning said. "Early in the
season, she was making some great decision and some not-so-great
decisions. Now she's making much smarter decisions on the run. I
think this was a breakthrough weekend for her."
The Ephs enjoyed their best half of the season in the first 20
minutes, shooting the ball extremely well (48.8 percent) and
outrebounding the Bobcats by a 30-21 margin.
Greenberg was error-free in the half, scoring 13 of her 18
points, dishing out four assists and securing seven rebounds. The
Ephs moved the ball very well, notching 12 assists on 20 field
goals.
Williams was out to a 10-0 lead before one minute was up as
Peterman drained a three on the Ephs first possession and Jaris
scored from the paint on the next. Jackson drained a trey
from the right elbow and Ham scored a fastbreak basket off an
assist from Lisa Jaris at the 18-minute mark for the 10-point
advantage.
Bates fought back quickly, closing to 12-8 on a jumper by Amanda
Gifford with 15:29 to go, but the Ephs responded with a 6-0
mini-run to regain their 10-point advantage. A Jackson putback
preceded back-to-back buckets from sophomore Taylor Shea, the last
a 15-foot jumper that made it 18-8 with 14:25 to go.
Greenberg scored seven points in a row for the Ephs mid-way
through the half, driving to the center of the lane to hit a
floater, draining a trey off an assist from Jackson and then
knocking down a 16-foot jumper to give Williams a 34-18 lead with
6:10 to go.
The Ephs closed the half with an 8-0 run, going into the locker
room with a 49-24 lead after Jackson hit a 16-foot baseline jumper
in the closing seconds.
Williams led by 20 or more for much of the second half, but a
late Bates run allowed the Bobcats to creep within 12 aftger Kelsey
Flaherty nailed a three-pointer off the left wing with 4:18 to go.
Williams responded with a 12-0 run to push their lead back to
22. Jackson hit a lay-up off Greenberg's final assist and then
Kelsey Ham and Peterman connected on back-to-back three-pointers.
"Bates is a very good team," Manning said. "They can score
points in a hurry, so I never felt totally comfortable. It was nice
to see us respond the way we did to each one of their runs.
Everybody made a difference today."
Williams shot 49.3 percent (34 of 69) for the game and 52.9
percent (9 of 17) from beyond the three-point arc. Ham finished
with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Lisa Jaris
had six points and nine boards. Shea scored eight points.
For Bates, Annie Burns added 12 and Flaherty 10. Yanofsky led
with eight rebounds.
