WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – After a loss to Bowdoin in which they played strong defense but struggled to score, the Williams Ephs (7-8, 2-2 NESCAC) continued their swarming defensive effort and combined it with much-improved outside shooting to down the Colby Mules (9-4, 1-3 NESCAC), 73-45.
In the first half, the Ephs showed their continued defensive growth by holding Colby to 14 points on 5 for 19 (26.3%) shooting and forcing 16 Mule turnovers. But Williams made even greater strides on the offensive end. After taking just 7 three-pointers yesterday against Bowdoin and making just two of them, the Ephs shot 8 for 18 (44.4%) from beyond the arc in the first half, placing a newfound emphasis on outside shooting and scoring 73 points, their most in a game since scoring 89 against MCLA on November 14
th.
"We put it together on both ends of the floor," commented Eph head coach
Pat Manning following the 28-point win, the Ephs' largest margin of victory since the MCLA game. "Our defense helped create our offense, and we got the pace we wanted. It was an all-around great team game today."
By halftime, the Ephs had a commanding 38-14 lead and the game was already out of hand. The Mules didn't come within fewer than 18 points for the rest of the match.
Manning was especially impressed by the team's ability to bounce back from a difficult loss on the second game of a back-to-back. "I'm proud of the team's ability to put yesterday behind them and just focus on today. That's our NESCAC season; it's always back-to-backs. This was a big step for us to be able to do that with such a young team."
Guard
Maggie Meehan '22 (17p) shot an efficient 6 for 9 (66.7%) from the field and 3 for 4 (75.0%) from deep. While forward
Maddy Mandyck '23 (16p, 5r, 5a) didn't enjoy quite as much success on the boards as she has at other points this season, she enjoyed one of her best offensive games of the season and the Ephs still outrebounded the Mules 32-30. Forward
Arianna Gerig '25 (11p, 4r) consistently found success inside the paint, while guard
Cortland McBarron (8p, 4r) provided a spark off the bench with two first-half three-pointers.
Forward Adaobi Nebuwa (12p) was the only Mule to reach double-digit points, but guards Chiamaka Ubani and Carly Christofori scored nine points each. Four different Mules recorded at least five rebounds, but the Mules struggled from the field, shooting just 16 for 46 (31.8%) overall and 4 for 16 (25.0%) from beyond the arc.
Colby guard Keegan Dunbar started off the game with a jump shot to make it 2-0 Colby, but the rest of the first quarter was all Williams. The Ephs went on a 16-1 run for the rest of the quarter, on which Meehan hit two three-pointers and Taylor added another.
Though Colby guard Carly Christofori hit two threes of her own to get the Mules back on the board, the Ephs didn't let up. Williams hit four more threes in the second half, the last of which came by McBarron with just two seconds left in the first half. The Ephs finished the first half shooting a modest 13 for 35 (37.1%) from the field, but their 7 for 14 (50.0%) mark from the arc was as good as they've shot from deep all year.
"Yesterday, we acted like we'd never shot from the outside before," remarked Manning. "But we spent a lot of time this morning talking about it. We've got really good shooters, and that was our major emphasis today."
Despite being outscored by the Mules 20-14 in the third quarter, the Ephs bounced back in the fourth, extending their lead to as many as 30 points in the middle of the quarter. The Ephs shot an impressive 15 for 25 (60.0%) from the field in the second half, moving the ball effectively against the Mules' defense and finding numerous open looks.
"I thought we had a little lapse in the third quarter where we slowed down, but we picked it up again in the fourth," said Manning. "This was one of our best defensive efforts of the season."
Next Wednesday at 7:00PM, the Ephs will face Amherst at home in their Little Three matchup, a rematch of their NESCAC game on January 8
th that the Mammoths won 72-54.
