Box Score Williamstown, MA- The Williams College women's basketball team overcame a double digit third quarter deficit today en route to a 64-59 victory over the nationally ranked Connecticut College Camels (16-5/5-3 NESCAC). Williams (17-5/5-3 NESCAC) was led in scoring by sophomore Amanni Fernandez who racked up 27 points and four assists in the win, but it was the senior duo of captains Katie Litman and Oge Uwanaka, playing in their final regular season home game, that sparked the Ephs today. Connecticut sophomore Mairead Hynes showed why she is the Camels' leading scorer, recording 20 points on 8-10 shooting from the field, though her efforts fell just short.
The Camels controlled play in the early going, jumping out to a 10-4 lead at the 6:44 mark in the first quarter after senior Willa McKinley hit her first of three three point shots. Junior Liz Malman chipped in six of her eleven points as part of a smooth offensive performance for the Camels that yielded a 19-12 lead at the end of the period. Turnovers continued to plague the Ephs as they have all season, however they did tally four blocks in the quarter, three of them coming off the hands of either Litman or Uwanaka. Litman also led Williams in scoring in the first, making both of her attempts from the field for four of her ten points.
Williams was able to gain some ground in the second quarter behind Fernandez, who controlled the game beautifully from the point guard position. There was a stretch of nine straight Eph points that Fernandez either scored or recorded an assist on, the lone assist coming when junior Devon Caveney connected on the only made three point attempt in 11 tries for the Ephs in the first half. While Williams started to establish a rhythm on offense, their defense forced Conn out of the flow they had been in in the first, holding the Camels to ten points while forcing six turnovers in the second quarter while Williams committed just two turnovers in the same timespan.
Conn opened the second half on a 9-3 run capped off by a Malman three pointer that forced Williams head coach Pat Manning to use one of her full timeouts. Williams went on to close the third quarter on a long run of their own, outscoring the Camels 14-5 over the final 7:24 of the period. The run started when Caveney found the net on another three point attempt, followed closely by a three from Fernandez that cut the Connecticut back to four. McKinley chose that moment to knock down her second three of the ball game, only to initiate a response in the form of an Uwanaka made jump shot and another Fernandez three that brought Williams within one to start the fourth quarter.
The teams went back and forth in the final quarter, with players from both teams making big plays when it counted the most. Williams first pulled level with the Camels with seven minutes to play when Fernandez nailed yet another three pointer to even up the score at 49 apiece. A three from Caveney three minutes later gave the Ephs the lead, however McKinley responded with a three of her own that knotted the game again. Free throw shooting proved to be the difference in the game down the stretch when Malman fouled Fernandez to put her at the line and Williams into the bonus. Fernandez would make four free throws in the closing minutes of the game while Uwanaka connected on two of four attempts, scoring the final points in her final regular season game in Chandler Gymnasium.
Litman and Uwanaka scored the first two baskets for Williams in the fourth quarter to get things going on the offensive end, however it was their defense that helped Williams seal the deal down the stretch. The duo combined for four steals and two blocks over the final ten minutes. The turnover margin again proved to be a critical indicator of which team had the upper hand, and in the case of the fourth quarter it was Williams who won the turnover battle by only committing one as opposed to the six committed by Connecticut.
Eph head coach Pat Manning was thoroughly pleased with her team's performance as well as their ability to respond to adversity, saying, "We've been down late in pretty much every NESCAC game up to this point, against Middlebury, Trinity, and two nights ago against Wesleyan. Everybody keeps their composure well and that's a credit to our seniors but also to Amanni, who is running the show out there. When [Amanni] doesn't panic, that keeps everybody else steady."
Williams will go on the road next weekend to close out their regular season schedule, playing games against Tufts and Bates that will have a huge impact on potential seeding for the NESCAC tournament. Williams currently sits in a three way tie for fourth along with Colby and Conn, who are all just one game behind Bowdoin for the third seed. A matchup with 8th ranked and NESCAC leading Tufts on Friday will be the first of their two games. In the words of Manning, "Everything depends on next weekend."
