Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – After grabbing an early lead, Williams maintained a high-speed pace of play to secure an 84-45 win over Bates College. Four Ephs scored in the double digits tonight, with two of those players coming off the bench to contribute to the home team's victory.
The overall leaders in scoring this evening for Bates were senior Meredith Kelly and freshman Alice Coppola, who scored 13 and 10 points respectively. For the Ephs, captains Kellie Macdonald and Ellen Cook scored an impressive 14 and 10 points respectively, while reserves Jane Thompson and Lauren McCall each scored 12. McCall also led in rebounds, grabbing 11 overall.
Eph Ellen Cook set the tone early, putting away two foul shots after a hard drive to the hoop. Strong rebounding by the Ephs helped them establish a six point lead before Bates could respond with a three-point play by Bernadette Connors. The Bobcats would capitalize on another three-point play three minutes later to shorten their deficit. Williams turned up the pressure to utilize their speed and ball handling skills and widen their lead before Bates could gain momentum. With a beautiful give and go between captains Cook and Kelly Macdonald and a solo drive by Cook, Williams extended their lead to 16-5.
By the 12:10 mark, Williams had established a double-digit lead and wasn't looking to slow down the pace of their play. Bates was able to maintain the same speed of play, however, coming back within seven of Williams with a jump shot by Allie Coppola. At the 8:36 mark, Williams reestablished their double-digit lead with a strong play in the paint by Oge Uwanaka. With less than six minutes to play in the half, Williams decidedly slowed down their play, transitioning to settled offense in lieu of the fast break plays they had utilized earlier in the half. Despite their transition on offense, the Ephs continued to play aggressive defense, as Devon Caveney continued to disrupt the Bobcats' offense with tips and blocks.
In the last four minutes of the first half, Bates would not be able to tackle Williams' double-digit lead. In fact, with three different Ephs scoring in those last minutes, Williams extended their lead to 38-24 before the buzzer sounded. Williams closed out the half with two leaders in terms of point scoring, Macdonald and Cook, who scored 12 and 8 points respectively. For Bates, the scoring spread out more evenly, with five players scoring either four or six points.
Williams took control again early in the second half, scoring four quick points and pushing Bates to call a timeout. At the 18:08 mark, two foul shots by Cook gave the Ephs their first 20-point lead. Although Williams would eventually extend this lead to 28, Bates continued to drive to the hoop. Bobcat Meredith Kelly broke up a run by the Ephs with a hard drive and two foul shots to bring the score to 54-29. Defensively, Bates turned up the pressure all over the court to try and regain possession and maintain the momentum created by Kelly's play. However, by the 13:13 mark, Uwanaka pushed the Ephs' lead to 31 by sinking two foul shots.
With just over ten minutes to play, Williams secured a 65-29 lead with an unattested three-pointer by Jane Thompson. The Williams bench had scored 17 of the last 24 points scored overall, with freshman Lauren McCall grabbing eight of those points. A great dish by Julia Rafferty to Kate Moody helped Bates stay within 35 of Williams, bringing the score to 69-34.
In the last five minutes of play, neither team gave up looking to the hoop. At the 2:13 mark, Bates had been able to come back within 30 points of their competition, bringing the score to 75-45. Those last few minutes of play would prove to be high scoring, with the two teams scoring a combined 21 points. Play would close with the score at 84-45. The second-half leaders for Williams would come off their bench, as Thompson, McCall, and Katie Leinbach scored 10, 8, and 9 points respectively. For the Bobcats, Kelly would have 7 points in the second half. Said coach Pat Manning, "I was really happy with our defensive execution in the second half, we communicated much better. I was thrilled with the performance of our bench, it was great to see everyone contribute on both ends of the floor."
Williams next takes on Tufts tomorrow afternoon at 2 P.M. at home.
