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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA.- A defensive stop was all
they needed. Down
73-70 with 40 seconds on the clock, the Williams women's
basketball team (8-16, 3-6) knew if they got a defensive stop they
could run a play to tie the game with 10 seconds
remaining. As the shot clock wound down, it
looked as though they would get their chance.
A Trinity post player threw a shot up in the
lane in hopes of avoiding the shot clock
violation. While the Williams bench and crowd
were screaming for a violation, the referees did not agree and let
play continue. The Ephs on court stopped
playing, and Christine Card layed the ball in for
two.
While Williams head coach Pat Manning pleaded
her case, it was no use, and Williams couldn't even get a
shot off in the last ten seconds, and fell to Trinity, 75-70, on
Senior Day. Prior to the game, the Ephs honored seniors Mika
Peterman, Patricia Ludwig, and Lindsay Millert for their
efforts.
“We had our play set up if we got a
defensive stop,” said Manning. “I
can't believe that that rebound counted, but we have to play
until we hear the whistle. We thought the time
was up, but there is no excuse to stop playing.”
Williams led for 37:51, similar to
yesterday's game at Amherst, starting the game off
strong. The Ephs
built up an eight point lead, 14-6, before the Bantams neared
within four. At the
6:33 mark, Williams regained their eight-point advantage after
Jessica Harris stole the ball under the basket for
two.
The Ephs led by as many as twelve points at
the 2:46 mark, 32-24, but led at the half by only
five. They fouled on a three-point shot, and on
the ensuing play, sending Trinity to the line to narrow the gap at
half, 36-31.
Williams came out firing out of
intermission. Mika
Peterman and Chessie Jackson drained back-to-back three's,
expanding the Williams lead to its largest of the night at
thirteen. The Bantams
could not be put away, and crawled to within six in a one-minute
span at the 16:46 mark, 46-40.
At the ten-minute mark, the trouble started
for Williams. Trinity
tied the game at 57 apiece, starting to hit tough shots, and
notched their first lead at the 2:11 mark.
"There were mental lapses that hurt us,"
said Manning. "We started to panic mentally, and with Chessie
and Jill in foul trouble, that troubled us."
Looking at the stat sheet, one would be hard
pressed to figure out how the Ephs lost this basketball
game. Williams led Trinity in rebounds (48 to
40), assists (21 to 14), steals (13 to 7). The
shooting percentages were comparable, and each team shot exactly 34
field goals.
Where the Ephs lost the game was from the free
throw line, going an abysmal 0-for-7 from the stripe, and 0-for-4
in the final minute of play. Points, that if had
been made, would have tied the game or taken the lead in two
different instances.
Instead the Ephs were forced to play from behind all of the last
minute.
Four of the five Ephs starters scored in
double figures.
Taylor Shea and Mika Peterman scored 10 apiece, while Shea added 13
rebounds for a double-double. Jill Greenberg
manned the floor at point, contributing 15
points. Jessica Harris led all Ephs with 19
points and 14 rebounds.
Michelle Royals led all scorers with 23
points. Christine
Card added 18 points and 9 boards.
Williams is the 8th seed in the
NESCAC tournament, and will play against the number-one seed,
Bowdoin, next Saturday. The Ephs lost to Bowdoin
on February 7, 91-58.
"It's the post season, everyone starts again
at 0-0," said Manning. "Anything can happen, and I was so
proud last night (at Amherst), and we elevated our game. We
have to execute down the stretch, and we just did not do that this
weekend."
