Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Williams College

Women's Basketball

Ephs win consolation game of Winter Classic over Rhode Island College, 51-48

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.” 

 

Print Friendly Version