Box Score MIDDLETOWN, CT – After two exciting periods of regulation play followed by an equally exciting overtime period, Williams (20-4, 6-4 NESCAC) came out on top over Wesleyan (12-11) by a score of 76-71. Freshman Lauren McCall would score 11 of the Ephs' last 12 points, helping Williams secure the win in their last game of the regular season.
In terms of scoring, McCall would lead for the Ephs, scoring 25 points off the bench and junior captain Ellen Cook would follow with 19. Wesleyan's KellyAnn Rooney would lead for the home team with 22 points. Williams' Oge Uwanaka led overall in rebounds, grabbing 12 boards, but Wesleyan's Cherkira Lashley would not be far behind with 11 rebounds.
Williams would grab the first substantial lead of the game, jumping out 10-2 by the 13:24 mark. However, a three-pointer by Jackie Brown put the Cardinals back on the scoreboard, and jumpstarted their momentum. Going on an eight-point run, Wesleyan overtook Williams within the next five minutes, going up 17-13. Although Williams' Ellen Cook would counter with a four-point run of her own, this would not deter Wesleyan's drive as they continued to dominate offensively for the remainder of the half. With three consecutive jump shots from Lashley and a buzzer beating three-pointer from Jenna Klaes, Wesleyan secured a 31-22 lead over Williams before the end of the first half.
Williams wasted no time mounting their comeback effort in the second half, going on a nine-point run to tie things up at 31-31. Four different Ephs would score in these first three minutes of play. Williams' freshmen Lauren McCall and Devon Caveney would combine for eight points in a three minute span to put the Ephs up 34-33, giving Williams back the lead for the first time in thirteen minutes.
Up by one point with fifteen minutes left in regulation, Williams held on tight to their lead, even managing to extend it to as great as six points. However, Wesleyan remained close on Williams' heels by capitalizing on their time at the foul line. In the last ten minutes of play, KellyAnn Rooney would sink eleven of twelve free throws to help her team close the gap between them and the Ephs. At the 6:21 mark, Wesleyan tied things up and then overcame Williams with two foul shots by Lashley and it seemed that the tide might have turned in the Cardinals' favor. The last few minutes of regulation would prove to be very exciting, as the two teams battled to the buzzer. Williams found themselves on top with 46 seconds left after two clutch foul shots by Cook. However, Rooney responded with a huge jump shot with only 30 seconds left to tie things up at 63-63. Those last seconds of play would run out with the score locked at 63-63, pushing Wesleyan and Williams into overtime.
Play would remain equally tight throughout overtime, with each team coming up with hugely important shots from the field. McCall would pull through in the clutch for the Ephs in these last minutes of play. With three three-pointers and a jump shot, McCall helped the Ephs come back from a slow start to the overtime period. With only one minute left in overtime, Rooney's composed shooting at the foul line tied things up at 71. However, with twelve seconds left, McCall responded with her third three-pointer of the period to put the Ephs up 74-1. Caveney finally clinched it with two free throws to end the game at 76-71 in the Ephs' favor.
Williams' next game and their first postseason matchup will have the Ephs taking to the road to play at Bowdoin next Saturday at 2:00 PM. Complete tournament pairings will be announced tomorrow afternoon after the regular season schedule is complete.
