Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY.— Led by a 19 point, 20 rebound outing from Julia Blanck— Skidmore (2-1, 0-0, Liberty League) was able to come out on top over Williams (4-2, 0-0, NESCAC), 70-56.
In the first quarter, Williams' ball movement got the job done, as the Ephs' first six points came from assisted looks. The Thoroughbreds kept even with the Ephs as the game got underway, but following a made jumper from Blanck, Skidmore went on a 13-4 run to finish up the quarter.
In the second, the Ephs ramped up their intensity, scoring a pair of threes and a layup to bring the deficit to three. However, following a Mia Holtze post seal for two, Williams had trouble seeing a shot fall. With the game slowing down, shooting fell to 23% and 25% for Williams and Skidmore respectively.
The difference came in the number of shots taken, as the Thoroughbreds' nine offensive rebounds would lead them to take twenty shots to the Ephs' thirteen. Leading the way for the Thoroughbreds was Julia Blanck— who by the end of the half would already have a 15 point, 16 rebound double-double.
Skidmore's dribble-drive offense produced 16 points in the paint with an additional two coming from the free throw line. On the Thoroughbreds' offense, head coach Pat Manning said "They were hurting us off the dribble. We didn't rotate well enough, and didn't take up the space that we really should've on our switches. We gave them some open lanes and our help defense didn't rotate quickly enough." Skidmore topped off the half with a last second heave to bring the score to 29-19.
Starting the third quarter, Williams began their retaliation, scoring the first points after the break with another post seal from Holtze. Skidmore responded with a three, but the Ephs kept up pressure in the lane, bringing the score to 39-45 after a jumper from Arianna Gerig. Skidmore was forced to call time, but pulled the game back under their control, scoring 16 points in the remainder of the quarter on 58% shooting, while Williams was only able to convert 25% of their shots for 4 points.
To start the final period, the Ephs found themselves facing an 18 point deficit. Still, they didn't give in, and went bucket for bucket, bringing the game to within twelve in the fourth. In the end, the Thoroughbreds were able to hold off the comeback, and finished the night with a 70-56 victory over the Ephs.
Rebounds proved to be the deciding factor of the game, with Skidmore able to tally 52 rebounds to Williams' 28. "They outworked us on the boards big time. We gave them too many second chances. We had talked about keeping them one and done, and trying to force up a bad first shot, but we gave them so many second shots— and those were layups and putbacks," remarked Coach Manning following the game.
Manning went on to share her thoughts on Skidmore's intensity and the Ephs' defensive struggles: "When you're on the road you have to lead with your defense, and we certainly did not do that tonight. [Skidmore] played really hard. They don't take any possessions off. They're on the floor diving for loose balls, and that's their style of play. We didn't play with the same intensity that we needed. Third quarter I thought we came out really strong, and we cut it to five, but when we gave up a couple baskets on the other end we got deflated. It's a mental thing too— we have to be able to bounce back when another team's on a run, just to try to stop that run."
Looking forward to this weekend's Shooting Touch Tournament, Coach Manning shared a message of determination. "We're only six games in, and it's November. We know we're capable of putting it all together. We'll get back to work tomorrow— we need to get back to the basics. We didn't play team defense, and that's really critical. In the first two or three games we played really strong defense, and we've kind of let down since then, so that's going to be our emphasis for the weekend."
The Ephs will play their first game of the Shooting Touch Tournament this Friday at 6PM vs. Keene State, back home in Chandler Gym.
