Box Score MIDDLEBURY, VT. — A poor defensive effort Sunday sabotaged the Williams women's basketball team's hope to create a two-game win streak in the conference as the Ephs dropped a road contest at Middlebury, 85-57.
Williams fell to 12-6 overall, 2-4 in the NESCAC. The Ephs will host Amherst Wednesday at 7 p.m. Middlebry improved to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play.
"Middlebury executed really, really well today," Ephs' head coach Pat Manning said. "They moved the ball very well and we didn't play team defense at all, we did not challenge them defensively, and they were able to take the shots they wanted to take."
Senior co-captain Devon Caveney led Williams with 16 points. First-year Emily Peckham came off the bench to score 10 points and grab eight boards. Kristin Fechtelkotter netted eight points and had a team-high seven rebounds.
Middlebury's Betsy Knox and Kira Waldman scored 17 points each to lead the Panthers. Colleen Caveney scored 15 points for Middlebury while Catherine Harris posted a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Devon Caveney gave Williams a 7-4 lead mid-way through the first quarter with a three-pointer, but Colleen Cavney tied the game at 11 with a three of her own. Sarah Kaufman's trey with 2:18 remaining in the quarter gave the Panthers the lead. They would not relinquish it the remainder of the game.
In the second quarter, Middlebury would outscore the Ephs 18-5 as Waldman came off the bench to score eight of her 17 points. Devon Caveney hit one of two free throws with 5:21 left in the quarter to make it a 24-21 game, but the Panthers outscored Williams over the next 5:21, 13-0, to into halftime with a 16-point advantage.
Out of the break, Williams chipped away and cut the deficit to 13 (45-32) at the 5:47 mark on a three from Devon Caveney. The Panthers answered with an 8-0 spurt of their own spanning the next two minutes, including a pair of three from Colleen Caveney and a fastbreak layup from Alex Huffman for a 21-point bulge (52-31) with 3:48 left. The hosts' advantage hovered around the 20-point mark over the remainder of the quarter, taking a 61-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers maintained their double-digit lead over the final stanza, pushing it to as many as 30 (82-52) on a three from Kaufman with just under three minutes left before cruising to the win.
As a team, Middlebury held a 39-27 rebounding advantage led by Harrison's 10, converting on 51.7 percent of its shots (30-58) and did not commit a turnover for more than a 14-minute stretch spanning the final three quarters.
