Williams Falls to Tufts, 61-27

Williamstown, MA- The Tufts University Jumbos (22-1, 9-1 NESCAC) defeated the Williams College Ephs (14-9, 3-6 NESCAC) by a score of 61-27 to finish their NESCAC schedule with a 9-1 record, currently good enough for second place behind Amherst. Tufts came into the game ranked third in the country after losing their first game of the season to now top ranked Amherst. Previously, the Jumbos had been the top ranked team in the nation since week one.

Sophomore Jacqueline Napp emerged as the leading scorer of an offensively balanced Jumbo team, scoring 11 points in 23 minutes of action. Williams was led by senior captain Devon Caveney who scored 6 points on a night when the Williams offense could not find a rhythm against a stout Jumbo defense.

Both teams went through an almost three minute long scoring drought to open the game before Tufts struck first through their 6-2 senior Michaela North. That was followed quickly by a layup in transition from Napp before Williams senior captain Lauren McCall stifled the Tufts momentum with a three pointer to put Williams on the board. North then scored the game's next four points to give Tufts a 9-3 lead, forcing a timeout from Williams head coach Pat Manning.

Williams switched their defense into a zone out of the timeout but were not able to slow down the Jumbos, who stretched their lead to 14-3 when Jennie Mucciarone knocked down Tufts' first three of the night. Kristen Fechtelkotter pushed the Williams point total to 5 at the end of the first quarter, with Mucciarone adding another basket to extend her team's lead to 11.

Tufts opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run and showed no signs of relenting. While their offense continued to put points on the board, it was their defense that showed why they haven't spent a week out of the top five in the national rankings. Williams struggled to find quality looks from anywhere on the floor, and even when they did there was always a Tufts player in the immediate area doing just enough to prevent the Eph players from scoring. The Jumbos held the Ephs scoreless for the first 7:49 of the second quarter before Caveney knocked down the Ephs' second three pointer of the night. Junior Amanni Fernandez tacked on another three before the half, but Williams found themselves in a big hole down 36-11 at the break.

Tufts outscored Williams 14-0 and outrebounded the Ephs by a 21-16 margin, mostly thanks to the front court tandem of North and junior Melissa Baptista, who combined for 15 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. The Tufts bench also outpaced the Williams bench by double-digits (16-0) thanks to Mucciarone and senior Katy Hicks, who combined for 13 points on 6-6 shooting.

Both teams struggled to make baskets in the third quarter. Williams again entered a sustained scoring drought, broken at the 1:49 mark in the quarter by a layup from junior Lydia Zaleski. The Williams defense held Tufts to only 8 points in the quarter but still lost ground to the Jumbos, trailing by 27 at 44-17 heading into the fourth.

Tufts continued to build their lead throughout the fourth quarter despite the fact that the final quarter was the Ephs' best period on the offensive end. Tufts outscored Williams 17-10 over the last ten minutes to round out their 34 point victory.

Williams head coach Pat Manning said following the game, "We didn't come ready to play tonight, we kinda just went through the motions and that's not good enough. We didn't compete hard enough in any aspect of the game. We need to regroup for Sunday, it's going to be Lauren and Devon's last game in Chandler, so we'll have to come together at practice tomorrow and get ready for Sunday."