Box Score
Williamstown, MA- The Williams College Ephs (15-9, 4-6 NESCAC) finished their regular season with an energetic 91-65 win over the Bates College Bobcats (8-15, 3-7 NESCAC) on senior day. Bates was led by senior Bernadette Connors, who scored a game-high 26 points, and Lyse Henshaw and Allie Coppola both cracked double digits with 13 and 12 points respectively. Williams received impressive performances from junior Kristen Fechtelkotter (14 pts.) and Emily Chang (8 pts.), but the day was carried by their seniors.
Williams honored senior co-captains Devon Caveney and Lauren McCall prior to tip-off, who played their final game in Chandler Gymnasium today. Both captains contributed immensely to the program over their four years, with Caveney earning the added honor of becoming the 17th woman in program history to join the 1,000 point club. Both impressed in their final game. Caveney scored 24 to lead her team and McCall was close behind with 20, each knocking down four three pointers on the game.
As expected, Williams head coach Pat Manning had a lot to say about her seniors: "This was all about Lauren and Devon, we wanted to give them a senior day to remember, I give them tremendous credit for leading us today. They were just amazing. Lauren and Devon have given so much to the program over their four years, I've loved coaching them, and I wanted to see them go out with a bang."
The Ephs used the extra energy from senior day to start the game with a passion and intensity that they were missing in Friday night's 61-27 loss to Tufts. Williams jumped out to a 10-4 lead, with Caveney supplying half of those points including a hard earned three point play that brought the Williams bench to their feet. Williams also started the game well defensively, with Caveney and Fechtelkotter recording two big blocks.
Bates used free throws to narrow the gap to 10-8 before Amanni Fernandez reeled in an offensive rebound and made the putback. McCall backed up that basket with pure three pointer from the top of the key that forced Bates into a timeout with 4:20 to play in the first quarter.
Williams kept momentum on their side following the timeout, finishing the quarter up 25-14 while shooting 45% from the field. Perhaps more impressive was the discipline shown by Williams in the first, committing no turnovers while forcing the Bobcats into five.
Williams sustained their double-digit lead throughout the second quarter, taking a 44-32 lead into halftime. The senior duo of Caveney and McCall both finished the half with 12 points, inspiring their team to one of its best offensive performances in a half this season. The Bobcats were also led by a senior, Connors, who racked up 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Williams managed to hold Nina Davenport and Allie Coppola (who stand at #1 and #4 respectively in the NESCAC for points per game) to just seven points combined in the first half, with Davenport sitting much of the half with two fouls.
Williams extended their lead to 18 over the first four minutes of the third quarter before Davenport hit a three to make the score 53-38 with 6:23 to play in the period. Williams first-year Emily Chang responded with a three of her own, and the lead was stretched to 20 when Fechtelkotter snuck through the Bobcat defense for a layup with 3:43 to play. Williams took a 67-45 lead into the final quarter, ten minutes from securing a win in their seniors' last home game.
The last ten minutes told the same story as the first thirty, with Williams in full control on both ends of the floor, finishing off their 91-65 victory. The Ephs also put up great numbers in key statistical categories. Williams finished the game with 6 turnovers (averaging 18.9) and scored 20 points off those turnovers. The Ephs also made 11 three pointers (averaging 5.2), including three on three straight possessions in the fourth, two from Caveney and one from sophomore Lexi Jones.
Manning had more to say about her team's overall performance following the game, saying, "Bates is a really good team with a lot of good players, Nina Davenport and Allie Coppola especially are very talented, and I just thought we did a great job defensively making them work for everything they got." Manning also credits a senior day team dinner on Saturday night for the inspired performance: "We had a highlight film, and we watched us play and it was so much better than how we've been playing recently, and I think that fired everyone up and showed us the team we can be. The way we moved the ball today was excellent. We were making smart decisions with the ball, being unselfish, keeping the ball moving and not committing turnovers."
NESCAC TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals - Saturday, February 18 (at Higher Seeds)
No. 8 Bates at No. 1 Amherst - 4 p.m.
No. 7 Williams at No. 2 Tufts - 4 p.m.
No. 6 Connecticut College at No. 3 Bowdoin - 3 p.m.
No. 5 Colby at No. 4 Middlebury - 4 p.m.
Semifinals - Saturday, February 25 (at Highest Remaining Seed)
2 p.m. | 4 p.m.
Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Remaining Quarterfinal Winners
Championship - Sunday, February 26
12 p.m.
Semifinal Winners
