Box Score NEW LONDON, CT – Despite a strong showing by the Ephs' bench, Williams (19-4, 5-4 NESCAC) fell to NESCAC foe Connecticut College (13-10) today by a score of 73-60. This brings the Ephs to a record of 19-4 overall, with only one regular season game remaining in their schedule.
Three Camels would score in the double-digits this evening, as Tara Gabelman, Liz Malman, and Carlee Smith scored 19, 16, and 14 points respectively. For the Ephs, freshman Lauren McCall would lead in point scoring, grabbing 13 points, while her teammate MaryKate O'Brien scored 10. On the boards, Gabelman would dominate, getting 15 rebounds tonight. Williams would lead overall in rebounds, grabbing 36 rebounds to Connecticut's 31.
The two teams remained neck and neck for the majority of the first half, as neither team secured a substantial lead until the 8:09 mark when a nine point run for the Ephs had put them up by a score of 21-12. Jane Thompson's second three-pointer of the night would finally put the Ephs up by nine, but Malman responded with a three-pointer of her own. With that, the Camels went on their own run, battling back to overcome the Ephs. With composed shooting, Connecticut scored seven points from the floor and three from the foul line to bring the score to 27-23. Williams would stay in the game, as freshmen Devon Caveney and Katie Litman scored four clutch, last minute points to keep the Ephs within four of their competition despite Connecticut's continued success from the foul line. The first half would close out with the score at 31-27 in Connecticut's favor.
The second half would begin much as did the first half, with both teams seeing their shots fall. However, Williams was able to tie things up at 38 with impressive shooting from a wide array of players as four members of their starting lineup would score in those first five minutes of play. While the Ephs found success from the field, the Camels were dominating at the foul line. Half of Connecticut's points in the first ten minutes of the second half would come from free throws.
At the 7:30 mark, the two teams were tied at 51 points. The next two minutes would be devoid of scoring, but once the Camels broke that ice, they gained momentum. Going on a six-point run, Connecticut secured a substantial lead that they would maintain for the remainder of the game. Although two free throws from Caveney would keep Williams within reach of Connecticut, a clutch three-pointer from Camel Kaitlyn Cresencia gave the home team a 63-55 lead with less than two minutes to play. This deficit would be too much for Williams to overcome, as Connecticut converted their foul shots to score twelve more points before the buzzer rang out. The score would close out at 75-60 in Connecticut's favor. When asked about tonight's game, coach Pat Manning said, "We couldn't seem to get an offensive flow going. Connecticut hit big shots when they needed them, and we didn't counter those baskets with clutch shots of our own." Manning is looking forward to regrouping to take on another NESCAC foe tomorrow afternoon in the Ephs' last regular season matchup.
Williams next takes on Wesleyan at Wesleyan tomorrow afternoon at 2 P.M.
