SPRINGFIELD, MASS.— Despite consistent effort throughout the course of the game, Williams (3-1, 0-0, NESCAC) was unable to overcome an early deficit and lost to Springfield (5-1, 0-0, NEWMAC) 72-58 this afternoon.
With time running down at the end of the third quarter,
Devin Biesbrock brought the ball up the court. Dribbling off a screen, she drove into the lane for two, setting the score to 49-40 and bringing Springfield's lead into single digits for the first time since the start of the second quarter. Unfortunately, that would be as close as the Ephs would get, as the Springfield Pride shot 60% in the fourth, and converted on all nine of their free throw attempts.
The Ephs' trouble started in the first, as from 9:12 to 5:12 the Pride went on a 12-0 run, making layups and threes as Williams' shots just weren't falling. "We got off to a really slow start. You can't get off to a slow start against Springfield— they're a very good team. We dug ourselves into a hole." Said head coach
Pat Manning on the Pride's first quarter success.
After a timeout, a post look for
Mia Holtze put the Ephs back on the board. Holtze would go on to be Williams' only scorer in the first, putting up five more points in the quarter.
On the last play of the first Williams ran their press against Springfield— but in a series of events eerily similar to Sunday's game vs. Stevenson— the Pride's Amanda Leery sank a last second heave at the buzzer to bring the score to 20-9 Springfield.
As the half went on, the Ephs had trouble getting the ball to fall, shooting only 23% on their 13 attempts. Springfield was unrelenting, and all 16 of their second quarter points came from drives into the lane. On the Ephs' defense, Coach Manning noted "We were waiting. To play good D you have to play defense early, and get in a position where you're not allowing them to do what they want to do. We sat back and let them make their cuts, and then responded and tried to play D, but by that point they had good position on us."
The Ephs found their footing in the third, making eight shots to the Pride's five, and ramping up the intensity on defense. Starting from 7:18, Williams went on a 15-7 run to end the quarter, converting from a series of steals, offensive rebounds, and forced turnovers.
Maddy Mandyck led the charge, with nine points, a block, steal, and a pair of rebounds.
After
Devin Biesbrock's clutch layup at the end of the quarter, Springfield struck back with a quick five points to increase the gap to 14. As the fourth went on, buckets from Mandyck,
Mia Holtze,
Devin Biesbrock, and
Kaleisha Towle brought the Pride's lead down to 10, but with just two minutes left to play, the Ephs were forced to foul. Springfield sank all nine of their free throw attempts in the last quarter, bringing the game to a close, 72-58.
Though both teams shot a similar percentage, with Williams shooting 37% and Springfield hitting 40%, rebounds and fouls played a big role in determining the game's outcome. The Pride was able to rack up ten more rebounds than the Ephs and also committed eleven fewer fouls. Coach Manning chalked this difference up to confidence. "We didn't play with the same level of confidence that we had played with in our recent games." On the defensive end: "We were too passive defensively, too timid, and gave them some real easy looks, especially in the first quarter."
She also commented on the Ephs' offense, saying "We didn't drive with the confidence that we usually have, which would've allowed us to get to the lane more. They played very good defense, but we also didn't attack the way we needed to attack."
Earlier today, the Ephs'
Maddy Mandyck was named U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III National Player of the Week. On Mandyck's award Manning said: "I don't think we've ever had a national player of the week. It's so well deserved for Maddy. She works so hard and is such a great leader. Maddy had another solid game tonight."
Reflecting on the game, Coach Manning said "We're going to learn from this game. It's our first road game, so it's different. You have to be ready for the intensity of the home team, and I just don't think we got off to the start that we wanted to."
The Ephs will play another away game at 12PM this Sunday, against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
