Box Score
Medford, MA- After the Williams men's basketball team got a road upset at Amherst in the NESCAC quarterfinals the women's team hit the court at Tufts University to try to do the same. Despite a significantly improved performance over their 61-27 loss to the Jumbos (24-1, 9-1 NESCAC) last weekend, the Ephs (15-10, 4-6 NESCAC) ultimately fell by a score of 58-40. Junior Amanni Fernandez led the Ephs with 10 points and 5 assists while senior captain Lauren McCall came up short of a double-double with 8 points and 8 rebounds. The Jumbos starters featured three players in double figures led by 14 points from senior Michela North.
Williams controlled play through the first five minutes of the game, drawing first blood off a Kristin Fechtelkotter layup which began a scoring spree over the first 4:10 of the ball game that saw Williams take an 8-7 lead. This marked a turning point in the first quarter, as Tufts went on a 10-4 run over the last 5:50 to emerge from the frame with a 17-12 lead. The run was capped off by a Melissa Baptista three pointer that sealed the momentum swing.
The Jumbos eagerly extended their lead in the second quarter, building their advantage to 16 with under a minute to play in the half before Williams cut it back to end the half down 32-18. North and sophomore Jacqueline Knapp both went 4-7 from the field in the first half, however Knapp edged her teammate in points by scoring 9 to North's 8. Knapp finished with 11 on the game. Williams was led by six points from McCall, who was held to just five points in the loss last weekend.
The Ephs put together a much more coherent offensive attack than they displayed last weekend, but the Tufts defense was again the difference in the game. Williams turned the ball over 15 times during the first twenty minutes, 10 of which were steals by the Jumbos. To make up somewhat for the turnovers, the Ephs controlled the boards by a 21-16 margin which did limit Tufts on offense.
The Jumbos sustained their double digit lead throughout the third quarter, finishing the frame up by 18 at 48-30. Williams continued to show improvement from last week's loss, however the Ephs could not dig themselves out of the hole that their turnovers created. Through three quarters Tufts had scored 26 points off of 22 Williams turnovers, which proved to be the decisive factor in the game.
Fernandez did her best to keep Williams competitive in the second half, scoring 10 points after being held scoreless in the first two quarters. Fernandez worked hard for every basket she made, including a silky step back jumper and several tough shots from up close off of the drive.
Despite the Eph's best efforts, Tufts continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, sealing their spot in the NESCAC semi-finals by a score of 58-40. Williams finishes their season with a record of 15-10 and will say goodbye to their two seniors, Lauren McCall and her co-captain Devon Caveney.
Williams head coach Pat Manning praised her seniors after their final game, congratulating them on two great careers and thanking them for the effort and dedication to the program they've shown over their four years. She added, "This was overall a better performance than last weekend, I think our defense played better but it was still our mistakes on offense that hurt us. We couldn't get the shots we needed to fall."
