Box Score
Williamstown, MA- A fourth quarter surge powered the Williams College women's basketball team to a 73-58 victory over the Trinity College Bantams today in Chandler Gymnasium. Williams (11-2/ 1-1 NESCAC) put together an excellent bounce back performance coming off a 80-44 loss to Amherst College on Friday night. The Ephs were sharp on both ends of the floor throughout the game, finding easy baskets on one end while forcing the Bantams into turnovers and bad shots on the other. Trinity (9-2/ 0-1 NESCAC) falls in their first conference game of the year despite another huge performance from senior captain MacKenzie Griffin, the Bantams' leading scorer, who averages over 20 points per game. Griffin posted a double doubel on the day with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
Williams controlled the game through the entire first half, finishing the first two quarters with a 41-33 lead. The Ephs dominated in the paint from start to finish, in part thanks to senior captain Katie Litman, who led Williams with six points off three layups in the first quarter. The Ephs outscored Trinity 46-18 in the paint in the game.
Williams effectively disrupted the Bantam offense in the first quarter, combining for five steals. Two one on one defensive matchups were central to the game plan for Williams, who put their best defender, senior captain Oge Uwanaka, on Trinity's Griffin. Williams junior Lauren McCall was tasked with covering Trinity senior Christina Raiti, the Bantams' best outside shooter.
Williams picked up where they left off in the second quarter, again putting together a strong defensive effort complemented by consistent scoring from a variety of players. Sophomore Lydia Zaleski came into the game for the Ephs after Litman committed her third personal foul, contributing valuable minutes and four points off the bench in the quarter. Griffin was often called on to keep the Bantams within striking distance, scoring 10 of her team's 16 points in the quarter.
Williams came out of the locker room to start the second half determined to maintain the lead and momentum they had worked to build through the first two quarters, but sloppy play gave Trinity the window of opportunity they needed to pull even.
Sophomore Ammani Fernandez stretched the Williams lead to 13 with a three pointer at the 5:31 mark of the third quarter, adding another two points on a transition layup seconds later. Fernandez was running all night, immediately looking up the floor following every Williams rebound on the defensive end. After those baskets, Trinity closed the quarter on a 17-2 run to tie the game at 50 going into the final quarter. Raiti found herself open for two three pointers after McCall was taken off of her. Williams became slightly flustered offensively, shooting only 4-13 and turning the ball over six times in the quarter.
The break between the third and fourth quarters allowed the Ephs a chance to compose themselves, reverting back to the tactics that were successful in the first two quarters. Williams leaned on their top two scorers, Fernandez and junior Devon Caveney, to lead them down the stretch. Caveney and Fernandez combined for 19 points in the fourth, 11 points more than the Bantams scored as a team. Fourteen of those points came off of layups, with both players weaving their way through the Trinity defense on their way to the basket. The duo almost single-handedly opened up a 15 point lead for the Ephs, and this time the lead would hold.
Williams head coach Pat Manning had good things to say about her sophomore point guard following the game: "I thought Ammani did a great job composing herself when things started to get tight. She and Devon came up big with those drives, it was really fun to watch them lead us." Manning was happy with the bounce back performance, saying, "I'm really proud of my team for coming back after one of our worst losses in recent years. To come back and play the way we did today was a good sign."
Williams travels to Maine to face Colby and Bowdoin next weekend while Trinity will face Connecticut College on Friday in their next matchup.
