Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Williams Women's Basketball (0-0 NESCAC, 8-0) took their first Little-Three victory today in a nail-biter against Wesleyan University (7-1). The Ephs pulled away late in the second half thanks to composed shooting from the foul line, with eight of their last ten points coming from free throws.
Williams won the tip-off to start the game in control, and were the first on the scoreboard with a lefty layup by Jane Thompson. Play would remain scoreless for the next two minutes until Jenna Klaes drained a three-pointer to give Wesleyan the lead. Although Williams was forcing turnovers defensively, Wesleyan continued to crash the boards on the Ephs' missed layups. Thus play remained tied at 3-2 in the Cardinals favor for two more minutes. MaryKate O'Brien finally broke the streak of scoreless play with a three-pointer of her own.
Wesleyan pushed hard defensively, pressuring Williams' guards to make quick decisions. The score would remain tight until the 11:59 mark when Kellie MacDonald made both of her free throws to bring the score to 12-8 in the Ephs' favor. This half would turn out to be a defensive battle, with both teams waiting for their shots to fall in the face of pressure. "Wesleyan plays great perimeter defense," said coach Pat Manning. "They make you earn every basket you get. Nothing came easy this game, it was a gut check for us." One of Williams' shots finally fell at the 9:24 mark as O'Brien sunk another three to bring the score to 15-9.
A timeout by Wesleyan helped the Cardinals come out swinging, as KellyAnn Rooney made a layup and drew a foul to convert a three-point play. Wesleyan's hard work crashing the boards paid off, helping them keep their scoring streak alive and bring the score to 15-14 in Williams' favor. Williams found themselves in foul trouble at the 5:43 mark, putting Klaes on the line. She made her first foul shot to tie the game at 15.
In the last five minutes of the half, one team would take the lead only to have it snatched away moments later. Neither team would gain a lead of more than two points for the remainder of the half, but Wesleyan would maintain a tight lead for the last few minutes of play. The score would stay locked at 19-21 at the end of the half.
Early in the second half, Wesleyan was able to extend their lead to four before Williams could respond. Eph Katie Litman capitalized on her foul shots, bringing the home team back within two of their opponent. Litman would make it a four point streak with a layup soon after that, but Williams would not be able to tie things up until the 13:26 mark when Ellen Cook drained a three-pointer to bring the game to 31-31. The Ephs would quickly grab a five point lead thanks to four completed free throws by Cook. Wesleyan battled back to within two points by the 7:49 mark, but Williams extended their lead yet again thanks to composed shooting from the foul line.
Wesleyan found themselves in foul trouble, with two of their starting players fouling out in the last five minutes of play. With the score at 49-44 with less than three minutes left, both teams ramped up the pressure defensively, pressing on the inbound plays. At the 1:47 mark, Williams found themselves in foul trouble as well, putting Wesleyan's Amber Wessels on the line. She sank both of her free throws to bring the score to 49-46. Strong offensive rebounding by the Ephs in that last minute of play kept them in possession.
O'Brien made a clutch jump shot to extend the Ephs' lead to five points with a minute left in the second half. A last minute steal by Wessels offered the Cardinals hope, but their shots wouldn't fall. Cook found herself at the foul line with 24 seconds to spare, and made one of her shots to bring the score to 52-46. Wesleyan fought back hard, pushing the ball up court and rebounding offensively to finally draw a foul with only 6 seconds left. Dresien Heath would just miss both of her free throws, however, and the Cardinals put Oge Uwanaka back on the line to have the final say in the half. The score would stay locked at 53-46, giving Williams their 10th straight win over Wesleyan. Said coach Manning about her young players, "This was the first ever Little Three game for five of our players. I'm very happy with how they stepped up to the challenge, and everyone refocused in the second half to be more in-sync."
The Ephs next take on Babson in Daytona Beach, FL on December 19th.
