Box Score
Middletown, CT- The Williams College women's basketball team (14-7, 3-4 NESCAC) breathed a sigh of relief after walking off the floor with a 65-60 win over the Wesleyan University Cardinals (7-13, 1-7 NESCAC) in a game that was a must-win for both teams. In the playoff atmosphere it was the upperclassmen that led the way for the Ephs.
Senior Devon Caveney played the role of closer, scoring 20 points on the game including the last 9 points for the Ephs. Juniors Amanni Fernandez and Kristin Fechtelkotter chipped in with 15 and 11 points respectively, but it was truly Caveney's night in a game where she also scored her 1000th career point.
Wesleyan showed tremendous heart, digging themselves out of an 11 point hole in the fourth quarter behind three point baskets from junior Maeve Vitale, who led the Cardinals with 17 points in the game. Vitale was backed up by Olivia Gorman, who scored 14 points and helped her team build a substantial halftime lead with a big second quarter.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first quarter, with Wesleyan shooting 4-15 and the Ephs shooting a dismal 3-21. The collective struggle made for a competitive quarter, with Wesleyan jumping out to a 10-5 lead before Williams used foul shots from Emily Peckham and Caveney to inch their way to an 11-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter was a reflection of the two teams' first meeting all the way back on December 10, 2016 in which Wesleyan took control in the early going. The Cardinals started the quarter on a 11-4 run before a three pointer from first year Emily Chang brought the Ephs back within three at 21-18. After layups on the other end from Maeve Vitale and Olivia Gorman, Chang knocked down her second three of the quarter to again give her team a momentum boost. That Momentum did not last long, as Wesleyan kept finding the basket en route to a 21 point second quarter explosion and a 31-23 halftime lead.
Gorman, who is her team's leading scorer despite only playing 23 minutes per game off the bench, scored 10 points in the first half and was backed up by the magnificent first half performance of Tara Berger. The sophomore forward scored 8 points while racking up 12 rebounds, helping her team gain a 24-20 edge on the glass. Wesleyan was also working as a team more effectively, passing well on their way to a 9-4 advantage in assists, which allowed them to score 16 points in the paint through two quarters.
Williams came out of halftime playing like a team desperate for a win and the game immediately swung in their favor. The Ephs went on a 15-1 run, forcing Wesleyan to take a timeout after they watched their eight point lead turn into a six point deficit at 38-32. The Ephs continued to pile on the baskets while Wesleyan only made one field goal in the quarter. The lead grew to 46-35 to start the final quarter.
A special moment came with 3:19 to play in the third quarter when Caveney went to the line to take two routine free throws. She made both, which constituted her 999th and 1000th career points, becoming the 17th woman in program history to accomplish the feat. Williams head coach Pat Manning said about her captain, "She's been consistent for us all season, leading the way on both ends of the floor. It's a tremendous accomplishment and speaks to the great teams that she has been a part of that helped her achieve this, it's a team effort when someone scores 1,000 points."
Just when it looked like Williams would run away with it, Wesleyan mounted a comeback effort in an attempt to keep their NESCAC Tournament hopes alive. They got hot from long distance at a critical moment in the game. Vitale knocked down a three, then Gorman connected from long distance to set the score at 56-52 in favor of the Ephs. Vitale sunk two more, her third three of the quarter knotting the score at 56 apiece with 2:16 to play in the game. Caveney knocked down two free throws before Khadija Matthews converted a three point play to give the Cardinals a 59-58 lead. A fast break off of a steal by Fernandez led to a three point play from Caveney. She then tacked on a layup and two more free throws to seal the 65-60 win.
Manning thought her team showed maturity coming out of halftime, saying, "We got away from our game in the second quarter. We got frustrated on offense which affected our defense, and we started looking at the scoreboard instead of staying in the moment. In the third we took it one possession at a time and relied on our defense to provide the energy our offense needed."
Williams will play Connecticut College on the road on Super Bowl Sunday in a game that will pit two teams against each other that are currently tied in the NESCAC standings. Wesleyan will wait a week to play at Bowdoin next Friday.
