Box Score
Williamstown, MA- Williams College and Bridgewater State University met in Chandler Gymnasium in the final game of the 2016 Williams Classic in a rematch from late January of this year, a matchup that was eventually won by the Ephs 61-52. Williams, coming off a 61-46 defeat against Montclair State on Saturday, bounced back for a 56-47 win on Sunday, their first of the year. The Ephs prevailed despite being without junior point guard Amanni Fernandez after an injury forced her into an early exit from yesterday's game. Fellow juniors Kristin Fechtelkotter and Lydia Zaleski picked up the slack, combining for 22 points and 17 rebounds. Bridgewater was led by junior Rihanna Page, who racked up 13 points on 6-11 shooting.
Williams, who struggled against the full court press of Montclair State on Saturday, were put under early pressure from the Bears, who scored seven points off of six Eph turnovers in the first quarter. The Bears used their early defensive success to jump out to a 9-3 lead before Williams was able to settle down and find better looks in their half-court set. Fechtelkotter led Williams with eight points on 3-4 shooting in the first ten minutes. Page scored 6 on perfect 3-3 shooting to lead the Bears to a 19-14 advantage to start the second quarter.
Page quickly scored her fourth basket of the game at the start of the second quarter to bump the lead to 21-14 before the Ephs put together a 14-2 run, capped off by a buzzer beating jump-shot from Zaleski. Senior Lauren McCall chipped in with a shot-clock beating three pointer that pulled the Ephs within one at the time. Bridgewater stagnated on the offensive end in the second period (2-12 shooting), with Page scoring all four points for her team.
Starting the second half with a 28-23 lead, the Ephs looked to quickly build on the advantage, stretching the lead to 11 before Bridgewater senior Stephanie DeSantis drained a momentum-halting three. Momentum quickly swung back to the Ephs when Zaleski converted an and-one opportunity on the other end to push the lead back to 11. The Bears responded with a three pointer from Sara Dasilva that was part of her team-high 7 points in the quarter which began a 10-4 run to pull the Bears within 5 by the end of the quarter.
The teams went back and forth in the first five minutes of the final quarter before DeSantis knocked home another three pointer that tied the game at 44 apiece. Zaleski gave the Ephs a 48-46 lead with two clutch free-throws, while Page could only convert one of her two attempts on the other end. A three pointer from Williams freshman Emily Chang gave the Ephs a two possession lead with two minutes to play in the game. Williams would tack on a few more free throws to ice the game and give them their first win of the 2016-17 season.
Williams will remain at home in their next matchup, a Tuesday game against Springfield College at 5:00 PM, while Bridgewater will travel on Tuesday for a bout with Rhode Island College at 5:30 PM.
