MIDDLEBURY, VT – Jill Greenberg scored her 1,000th point today as the Ephs (17-3, 4-2 NESCAC) defeated the Middlebury Panthers (5-13, 0-6 NESCAC) 86-56. The senior captain scored 14 points in the contest to total exactly 1,000 points in her career.
Said Coach Pat Manning about her point guard after the game, "Jill is having a tremendous senior year. She is displaying great leadership on the floor for us. She plays such a critical position at the point. To have a scoring point guard makes us a better team. She is also our all-time leader in assists, so I think that is key. It's not like she's only looking to score. She's really looking to distribute the ball and get us the best look. I'm thrilled for her. It's a tremendous accomplishment. To be able to do it her senior year when she's having her best year with the best leadership is perfect – it's just icing on the cake."
Like Greenberg, all the Ephs stepped up today. After trading hoops early, Williams started to take a decisive lead with just over six minutes to play in the first half. With 6:41 on the clock, Grace Rehnquist stole the ball for the Ephs. The possession resulted in a lay-up from Ellen Cook off of a pretty pass from Greenberg to make it a 29-25 Eph lead. After forcing a Middlebury turnover, the Ephs pushed their lead to six behind a nice finish from Kellie Macdonald in the paint. After both teams added several points from the free throw line, the Ephs got two big long balls from guard Jennie Harding to end the half. They entered the locker room with the 43-32 lead.
Out of the break, the Panthers were quick to cut into the Eph lead after Harding hit yet another three. Just over two minutes into the half, Scarlett Kirk finished a lay-up and was fouled for the Panthers. She was unable to convert the three-point play. The Panthers, however, then added consecutive jump shots from Maddie Moreau to cut the lead to 46-40. Greenberg responded for the Ephs with a three to push the lead back to nine.
After the two teams traded baskets, the Ephs went on a 21-1 run that spanned just under eight minutes. Williams was led by a pair of three-pointers and a lay-up from Harding as well as a bucket apiece from behind the arc from Jen Borderud and Cook. Greenberg and Lisa Jaris also finished inside the paint for the Ephs.
Williams' run was finally broken with a jumper from Stephany Surrette with 6:50 on the clock. The Ephs, however, continued to add to their lead for the rest of the game as everyone got into the game off of the Eph bench.
Kirk led the way for Middlebury with 12 points. Surrette added 11 for the Panthers, who shot 31.5% from the field.
Leading the way today for the Ephs was Harding with 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including seven baskets from behind the arc. Greenberg's 14 were second for the Ephs, who shot 50.8% from the floor and 48.0% from behind the arc.
Said Manning after the game about Harding, "Jennie is a great shooter and always has a really tough defensive assignment every game. We ask her to look for [the defense] first, but she was lighting it up in warm-ups and just had a really good feeling today. She was very confident. She passed up her first look – she was open to start the game – and after that, she didn't pass anything up, which was great because she took really good shots and had a tremendous night."
Overall, Manning was happy with everyone's performance: "We did a better job with our starters just stepping up [compared to Wednesday's loss against Amherst] – Kellie Macdonald is getting better every game, and for Lisa Jaris and Danny Rainer the same thing [is true]. Plus Jill and Jennie [played well]. Off the bench, Grace and Ellen did some really good things at both ends of the floor."
She added, "We were really happy with not panicking because they cut into the lead (46-40), but no one panicked. [After that], we were able to kick it into high gear with our transition game. It started with our defense. I thought we played solid defense for forty minutes, but I think our second-half defense was especially strong."
Williams returns home to host Colby next Friday at 6 PM. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the Eph-Mule matchup to support breast cancer awareness efforts. The following day, the Ephs will take on Bowdoin in their Senior Day game.
