WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Williams women's basketball team fell to rival Amherst (18-0, 5-0 NESCAC) 80-58 tonight in Chandler Gymnasium. The game counts towards Little Three play but not towards the teams' NESCAC records. The NESCAC game will take place on February 10th when the Ephs (16-3, 3-2 NESCAC) travel to Amherst.
Amherst took the lead early, but the Ephs kept the game close. With the Jeffs up four, first-year Ellen Cook swooshed a huge three off the bench to make it 13-12 with just over 13 minutes on the clock. Lisa Jaris took a charge on the next Jeff possession to keep the momentum on the Ephs' side. Kim Fiorentino, however, stole the ball for the Jeffs and took it the length of the court for two.
On the next Eph possession, Williams was able to keep the play alive off of a diving loose ball pick up by Cook. Jill Greenberg found Jaris by herself down low for the hoop to make it 15-14.
The Jeffs, however, ended the half on a 30-7 run led by Caroline Stedman, who leads Amherst in points per game on the year. The Jeffs started the run with a drive from Marcia Voigt. Stedman then hit a long three to make it 20-15 with just under ten minutes to play. After a pair of free throws, she added a transition three pointer and then a drive through traffic to push the Jeff lead to double digits.
The Ephs cut the Jeff lead back to eight behind a pretty look from Greenberg inside to Kellie Macdonald. Macdonald pump-faked to send her defender off her feet and finished to make it 27-19. Despite hustle on the offensive and defensive ends from the Ephs, Amherst continued to add to their lead for the rest of the half. They entered the locker room with the 45-21 lead.
Out of the break, the Ephs gained some traction on both ends of the court. Danny Rainer had a pretty drop-step and dribble to the hoop for two to get the Ephs going on the offensive end of the floor. Greenberg then swooshed a three. On the next Amherst possession, she stole the ball. Jaris was fouled on the resulting possession and made both free throws. After the Ephs forced a travel on the next Jeff possession, Jaris converted a three-point play for the Ephs. She was fouled on a put-back and made both the lay-up and the resulting free throw to cut the lead to 47-31 just under four minutes into the second half.
The two teams traded hoops for a while, but Amherst regained the firm lead with a steal and finish from Stedman and two pretty plays in a row from Lem Atanga McCormick. On the first, she had a swoosh inside. She then pulled up off the dribble and swooshed a jumper to make it 60-34.
The Ephs fought back behind a full court press and three-point shooting – including pretty long balls from Jennie Harding, Grace Rehnquist, and Cook. The Jeffs' second-shot opportunities and offensive rebounding – led by Megan Robertson – were overpowering, though, and they continued to control the game until the final moments.
Leading the way tonight for Amherst was Stedman with 22 points. Robertson posted a double double for the Jeffs with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. The Jeffs shot 46.0% from the field.
Cook led the way for the Ephs with 12 points. Rehnquist was the only other Eph in double digits with ten. The Ephs shot 34.6% from the floor on the night.
Said Coach Manning after the game, "This was disappointing. I thought our defense let us down. Against a team [like Amherst], you can't make defensive lapses and mental mistakes. And we did a lot of that tonight."
She was proud, however, of her team's fight: "I was happy that we came out and fought back. We were down so much at half, you can go one of two ways, and we fought back. That was key."
Manning commented on both Cook and Macdonald in their first Amherst game. "I thought Ellen just went for it. She's a very talented player. I thought Kellie went for it, too; she just got in foul trouble, and that kind of hurt her." She added about her team, "We competed. Second half, we definitely competed. Everyone that stepped out there [competed]. I was happy"
When asked how the Ephs will rebound to play Amherst again, Manning said, "It's defensive lapses that really cost us. It's going to be just working on the little things. Rotations on defense, things that we normally do well that we didn't do well tonight."
The Ephs look to rebound at Middlebury on Saturday at 2 PM. Amherst also returns to the court on Saturday at 2 PM. The Jeffs will take on Trinity.
GAME NOTES… Tonight's game was the 72nd game in the series; Williams leads 41-31. Including tonight, however, Amherst has won 10 of the last 11 including the last 10 in a row. Before Amherst's current streak, the Ephs had a 14-game win streak. Williams last won on January 26, 2008. Amherst head coach G.P. Gromacki, who is in his 5th year with the Jeffs, is 10-1 against the Ephs all-time. Ephs' head coach Pat Manning is 30-16 all-time against Amherst.
