Box Score
Williamstown, MA- Lauren McCall's offensive rebound and put back as time expired gave Williams its sixth victory in a row, grinding out a 50-49 win over visiting St. Lawrence University. McCall led all scorers with 16 points in the ball game that included 10 points down the stretch in the fourth quarter. The final put back gave the plot of the contest an unexpected twist, as the Saints led for almost all 40 minutes of the game. St. Lawrence found good offensive rhythm feeding the ball to their forwards Caroline Dalton and Cara Waterson, who combined for 19 points, most of them coming off of layups.
St. Lawrence got on the board early and often throughout the first quarter, staying patient in their offensive set and not forcing passes or shots. The Saints scored 8 of their 14 first quarter points in the paint while only turning the ball over twice in their offensive half. The St. Lawrence defense held firm against the Eph attack, forcing Williams into four turnovers and holding the Ephs to only 20% shooting from the field. A late three pointer from freshman Emily Chang brought the Ephs to within four by the end of the quarter, with the Saints holding a 14-10 lead.
Frustrations for the Ephs on offense continued into the second quarter, as their efforts to get junior Lydia Zaleski involved in the post led to no baskets, Zaleski shooting 0-5 in the first half. Williams head coach Pat Manning said about her team's struggles from inside, "Some crazy things were happening today, it felt like we were taking decent shots but none of them seemed to be falling." Manning went on to credit sophomore point guard Lexi Jones, playing in place of the injured Amanni Fernandez, for keeping the offense steady in the face of these close misses: "Lexi has been getting better every game for us, she's a very talented and athletic player and she's starting to make smarter decisions with the ball." The Ephs only turned the ball over 11 times in the game, well below their season average, which Manning says is credit to Jones.
Senior Devon Caveney made up for the close misses with hot shooting that was a continuation of her performance from Friday's win over Clarkson. Caveney hit two three pointers as part of a 12-2 run that eliminated the 20-10 lead that St. Lawrence had taken early on in the second quarter. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the half before St. Lawrence ultimately took a 30-27 lead into the locker room.
After a fairly low scoring third quarter in which neither team was able to gain significant separation, the teams took the floor to start the fourth with St. Lawrence up 41-37. Williams started the final quarter with a three point play from junior Lydia Zaleski to bring them within one of the Saints. After that, St. Lawrence was determined not to let the Ephs beat them with layups, prioritizing help defense in the paint over aggressive defense around the three point line. This did not deter Williams from looking inside, in fact it motivated the Ephs to work harder for layups, as evidenced by Lauren McCall's three point play with 5:31 remaining that gave Williams its first lead of the game, 47-45. Without Zaleski (arguably the best rebounder on the Ephs roster) on the floor in the final minutes, Caroline Dalton grabbed a critical offensive rebound that led to an open layup from Cara Waterson that gave the Saints a 49-48 lead with 1:31 remaining. St. Lawrence had a chance to extend that lead on a fast break that was denied by Caveney and brought back up the floor by Chang, who drew a foul. Chang failed to make either of her two attempts from the line, but Williams retained possession when McCall dove for the loose ball, knocking it off a Saint. The Ephs inbounded with just north of five seconds left in the game. Lexi Jones received the inbounds pass, driving to the hoop but missing a left-handed layup. McCall again showed her grit, grabbing the offensive board and putting up a shot of her own that fell through the cylinder as time expired, giving the Ephs a 50-49 victory.
Manning said about her senior captain, "Lauren stepped it up the entire second half. She became much more determined, taking the ball strong to the hoop, which was exactly the kind of senior leadership we needed." Manning also mentioned her thought process in drawing up the final play, saying, "Lexi had been driving really well all game which was why we decided to set the screen for her and have her go to the hoop. It was a good drive, but luckily Lauren was there to clean it up."
Both teams will go on the road for their next games, for the Ephs a matchup with Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday and for the Saints a meeting with Suny Potsdam on Tuesday.
