Box Score SCRANTON, PA -- The last six minutes were played like a heavyweight fight, punch-counterpunch, punch-counterpunch, but the punch from the Williams College women's basketball team missed its mark.
Ellen Cook's three-pointer at the buzzer fell short of the rim Friday night and the Ephs dropped a heartbreaking 76-75 defeat to Vassar College in the first round of the Div. III NCAA Tournament on the campus of Scranton University.
Williams, making its fourth appearance in five years in the NCAA Tournament, finished its season at 20-6. Vassar 23-5 moves on to play the winner of Friday's second first-round game between host Scranton and Bridgewater State.
Cook led Williams with 22 points whil e Devon Caveney added 15 points and Jane Thompson 10. Vassar's Cyndi Matsouka led all scorers with 31 points while Caitlin Drakeley added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Down one point at half, Vassar came out and scored the first five points of the second stanza and soon had Williams in a six-point hole. Matsuoka led the way, scoring 19 of the Brewers' 39 second-half points.
A free throw from Cook with 6:10 left made it 61-61 and on Williams' following possession, Lauren McCall drained a three from the left corner for a three-point Eph lead. Matsuoka answered with a three of her own to re-tie the game.
The two teams never let up. A steal by Caveney led to a MaryKate O'Brien lay-up and a 66-64 lead. Matsuoka answered with a jumper. Cook answered with her own two-pointer, Matsuoka answered.
A Cook drive with 2:43 left gave the Ephs their final lead at 73-72. Drakeley then made a lay-uo to regain the lead for Vassar. After a missed Caveny lay-up, McCall blocked a Drakeley shot, but the forward got her own rebound with nine seconds left on the shot clock. Following the in-bounds, Drakeley hit a 10-foot jumper as the shot clock expired for a 76-73 lead with only 1:23 left in the game.
With 1:03 remaining, Unwanaka was fouled and hit both free throws to make it 76-75. Williams took its last timeout and got a stop, but Caveney missed a three from the top of the key. The Ephs needed another stop as only a few second separated the shot clock and the game clock, and they got it when Kellie Macdonald came up with a steal with just seven seconds left in the game.
Williams rushed down the floor and got the ball to Cook, but her shot fell short and time expired.
Williams held a slim 38-37 lead at the half, despite jumping out to a 30-19 lead midway through the first 20 minutes. Caveney set the tone from the first posession when she nailed a three-pointer. The Ephs forced the Brewers into some bad shots in their early possessions and , as is their wont, turned those into transition buckets.
Cook and Caveney each had 12 points in the half, followed by Unwanaka's six. Cook's three-pointer gave Williams a 21-14 lead into a timeout and, on the following possesion, her drive to the basket made it 23-14 Williams. Minutes later, Cook drove to the hoop and was fouled, hitting the free throw for a 30-19 lead with 7:05 to go.
From their Vassar fought back, outscoring the Ephs 18-8 over the final seven minutes with improved ball movement while Williams went cold from the three-point line, finishing the half just 3 of 12 (25 percent).
Cyndi Matsuoka's three-pointer tied the game at 34, but back-to-back baskets on drives from Caveney and Unwanaka made it 38-34 Williams. The Ephs shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Brewers shot 44 percent. Matsuoka finished with 12 first-half points.
