WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.— To begin the Shooting Touch Tournament, Williams (5-2, 0-0 NESCAC) topped Keene St. (2-4, 0-1, LEC) 48-35, at home in Chandler Gym.
The Ephs' defensive energy was palpable as the game began. They stifled the Owls' first possession, and kept it up play after play— holding Keene St. scoreless for their first six tries. Ryann Taylor brought it on the offensive end, scoring the first five points of the game and 13 of the Ephs' 17 first quarter points.
Though Williams continued to keep Keene St.'s shooting percentage low, the Owls ramped up their intensity on both ends, drawing six fouls and reducing Eph scoring from 58% in the first to 33% in the second.
Going into the last seconds of the quarter, the Owls had scored 9 to the Ephs' 8. After a defensive stop, Williams pushed the ball up the court, searching for the fast break. It didn't materialize, and Devin Biesbrock pulled the ball out. Driving off an elbow screen, she passed to Maddy Mandyck. With one more pass, Mandyck dished the ball to Brooke Krivickas, who buried the ten footer to give the Ephs the win in the quarter, 10-9.
The third quarter remained challenging for the Ephs, as the Owls came out hot, making three of their four tries from behind the arc while pushing Williams' shooting numbers lower. The Ephs were only able to convert on 25% of their third quarter shots, but the Owls also racked up five fouls to the Ephs' one.
The Ephs brought their energy back up in the fourth, scoring four quick points off the short corner jumper and the fast break. Though the Owls pounded the paint, scoring all eight of their points of the quarter from layups and foul shots, the Ephs managed to pull away, ending the game 48-35.
Defense was a strong point for the Ephs, and they managed to keep Keene St. to 23% over the course of the game. Head coach Pat Manning commented on the team's strong defense, saying "I was really happy with our defense. When we went to Skidmore the other night we played horrendous defense, and we got killed on the boards. So that was what we were really stressing tonight: no second shots."
She went on to highlight players that had exemplified the increased effort, starting with Maddy Mandyck. "A lot of players stepped up, but Maddy had 17 rebounds, six of them offensive boards. She was determined." Manning also noted the contributions of Cortland McBarron, saying "A real spark plug for us was Cortland. She came in, and had four rebounds, three assists, a steal, a block, she did all the little things. That was so key."
Though Coach Manning was proud of the defensive effort, she felt that "offensively we were a little flat." When asked what the next steps were on that side of the ball, she noted that "We've been in a really hectic stretch— this was our seventh game in two and a half weeks. What we've been stressing most in practice is D, and we just need practice time where we can focus on our offense. Next week, we have Monday, Tuesday, [we] play Wednesday, then we have Thursday, Friday, [and a game] Saturday. We'll have more practice time. It'll be just getting back to the basics of offense, not overthinking, and executing."
The Ephs will play tomorrow against the victor of Babson vs. Bridgewater St. at 3PM, again in Chandler Gym.
