Box Score
Photo
Gallery
WILLIAMSTOWN,
MA. – After falling by three in the opening round of
the Winter Williams Classic to Emerson, the Williams women's
basketball team (9-4) found themselves in an another last-minute
battle in the consolation game of the tournament against Rhode
Island College (8-3).
This time around the Ephs ended up on the winning end, holding off
the Anchorwomen in the final seconds after letting a 17-point
second-half lead slip away.
Williams came out of the gate slow, scoring
their first basket of the game after two and a half minutes had
ticked off the clock.
The Ephs called a timeout with 13:42 to play in the first half
after falling behind, 11-4. Grace Rehnquist
and
Jennie Harding teamed up to score 9 points off 3 shots from behind
the arc to tie the game in just two minutes.
With the score knotted at 15 apiece with 11:01
on the clock, the Ephs found momentum. Harding
scored off a drive in the lane to bring the Ephs their first lead
of the game at 17-16.
Williams built a ten-point lead at 26-16, the biggest advantage of
the first half for either team, and led by eight at the break.
Williams continued to control the pace of play
in the second half, as Rhode Island struggled on the defensive end
of the ball. Harding
scored on a fast break for two points with 13:56 to play in the
game. The Anchorwomen
called a timeout, but Harding scored of a turnover on the following
possession and the opposing coach signaled for a second
timeout. Jill
Greenberg responded with a three-pointer to bring the lead to
39-22.
The Anchorwomen slowly chipped away at the
Ephs lead, and with 3:14 to play, the visiting squad had narrowed
the lead to single digits at 49-41. LaSheena
Boyd scored a running jumper in the paint to bring the score to
49-43. Britney Sacccoccio nailed two free throws
on the ensuing offensive possession to narrow the lead to
four.
Williams' head coach Pat Manning called
a timeout, but Williams would commit three consecutive turnovers
after the timeout. The defense played their part and did not allow
a field goal off the
first three turnovers. Denise Scott made the
back end of her two free throws to bring the lead to
49-46. Williams committed a fourth turnover, and
this time Rhode Island converted to bring the lead to 49-48 with 21
seconds to play.
“Our first half was good,” said
Manning. “We
had great defense, and focused on rebounding. In
the second half, we started to let down and we stopped crashing the
boards. We didn't look to do the things
that had made us successful in the first half and the beginning of
the second half. Our shot selection was not good
either.”
Williams called another timeout, and played a
successful press break to score two. Chessie
Jackson fed a lob pass to Kelsey Ham who had an open lay
up. Rhode Island's Stephanie Coro
attempted a three in the final seconds of the game, but missed wide
to give Williams the win, 51-48.
“We stayed composed in the stretch and
came up with some big plays,” continued
Manning. “It was frustrating to give up
the big lead, but we kept our composure in the end.”
Lisa Jaris tallied a double-double with 12
points and 10 rebounds. Jennie Harding finished
with 10 points and 6 boards. Jill Greenberg
chipped in 7 points, while Rehnquist added
eight. Claire Baecher contributed 6 points and 7
boards.
Boyd scored a double-double for the
Anchorwomen, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10
boards. Stephanie Coro added 13 points, while
Saccoccio had 8 rebounds.
Harding was named to the All-Tournament team
for Williams, while Coro received the honor for Rhode Island
College. They join
Nicole Wurdeman of Babson and Jessica Blodgett of Eastern
Connecticut on the All-Tournament list. Eastern
Connecticut's Jessica Moriarty was selected as the
Tournament's Most Valuable Player.
“Jennie Harding was outstanding all
weekend,” said Manning. “She kept
control, and made good decisions the entire tournament.”
Williams will travel to Skidmore on Wednesday
at 7:00 p.m. before they begin conference play this weekend.
“Grace [Rehnquist] had good presence off
the bench,” added Manning. “Clare
[Baecher] had some great rebounds, and I am happy with
that. We are getting contributions from a lot of
different people and that is key. We want to get
people experience before conference play begins.
We have played a challenging schedule these first twelve games
purposefully. Our conference is loaded from top
to bottom, and it is important to be prepared for
NESCACs.”
