Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Williams College Ephs (9-0) handily defeated their Little Three rivals, the Wesleyan University Cardinals (3-4), by a score of 77-59.
Wesleyan opened the scoring with a free throw, but Williams scored the game's first field goal with a Tim Duncan-esque floater by Kellie Macdonald. The game stayed tight for most of the first half; whenever either team built any kind of lead, the other was always able to respond in short order.
Despite a brief six-point lead for the Ephs midway through the half off the strength of Oge Uwanaka's post play on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals continued the keep the game close, roaring back with buckets by Cherkira Lashley and Miller Hartsoe along with a trey by Danielle Gervacio.
Aided by a bit of a cold snap shooting for Wesleyan, the Ephs were able to maintain a four-point lead for several possessions until a three-pointer by Devon Caveny and foul shot by Katie Litman extended the lead to 8, the largest lead by either team up to that point. Wesleyan regained some ground in the final minute but still went into halftime trailing by a score of 37-30.
With eleven points each, Devon Caveny and Ellen Cook led all scorers at the half. Williams made 47.1% of their shot attempts in the first half after a slow start shooting-wise, while Wesleyan shot 38.2% from the field.
Coming out of the half, Katie Litman extended the Eph lead to nine with a hook shot from the block, followed by a three-point-play by Devon Caveny for the first double-digit lead of the game.
The lead fluctuated around the ten-point mark for several minutes, until back-to-back threes by Devon Caveny and Lauren McCall catapulted the Ephs out to a 16-point lead with 12:25 left in the game. A tough layup in the paint by Lydia Zaleski extended the Eph lead to 18.
Despite pulling most of their starters with eight minutes left, Williams maintained their double digit lead for the rest of the game, and the final score was 77-59.
Eph Devon Caveny led all scorers with 18 points, while Brenna Diggins led the Cardinals with 15. Cardinal Miller Hartsoe recorded a game-high 9 rebounds in the contest. Wialliams finished the game having made 46.8% of their field goals, while Wesleyan shot only 29.2% from the field. In addition, the cardinals were only 3-15 from behind the arc.
After the game, Williams head coach Pat Manning praised her team's effort, especially in the second half: "I thought we played a very strong second half, and that's something we have struggled with in the last couple games…This time we played consistently for twenty minutes…I'm really proud of our effort."
Coach Manning also commented on the game's timing falling right in the middle of finals period, saying, "This is a very stressful time academically, so for them to come and put out that kind of effort was great. I think of all our nine games, this one of the best we've played all year.
Wesleyan will next face Nazareth College in Dayton, FL on December 29, while Williams returns to action against Lynchburg on December 20.
