WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Despite a strong offensive performance in the first half, the Williams Ephs (9-13, 3-6 NESCAC) were ultimately outlasted by the Bates Bobcats (14-6, 6-3 NESCAC) in a 71-65 defeat.
"We play in the toughest conference in the country, and we're challenging every team," commented Williams head coach
Pat Manning on the Ephs' improved play despite losing three straight games, all of which came against strong NESCAC opponents. "We're so close, but when you're playing good teams, you can't have lapses. We've got to have more of a stop-score-stop mentality."
Williams trailed for most of the first half, but guard
Maggie Meehan '22 brought the Ephs right back into it in the second quarter. The Ephs led 38-37 at the half, but the Bates defense adjusted and held Williams to just 9 points in the third quarter. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Bobcats extended their lead to double digits and put the game out of hand.
Meehan (24p) put together an impressive performance, especially in the first half, in her second-to-last regular-season game as an Eph. Forward
Maddy Mandyck '23 (15p, 16r) and
Arianna Gerig '25 (14p, 10r) both put up double-doubles and made key second-chance buckets to keep the Ephs in the game. Guard-forward
Mia Holtze (9p) hit a key three-pointer the gave Williams the lead going into halftime.
"When Maggie gets on a roll, she can keep going," remarked Manning. "She played her heart out and she gave everything she had, and she did a really good job defensively as well. She came back for another year so that she could have this chance to play a full season, and I'm thrilled that she's been able to do it."
As a team, the Ephs shot an efficient 18 for 37 (48.6%) in the first half, but went just 10 for 28 (35.7%) in the second as the Bates defense tightened. Williams also struggled for the line, going just 6 for 13 (46.2%) despite leading the NESCAC in free throw percentage (72.9%) going into the game.
The Bobcats earned a decisive 54-35 rebounding advantage, despite Mandyck's and Gerig's best efforts; no other Eph managed more than two rebounds. Most notably, Bates secured 19 offensive rebounds, 12 of which came in the second half. When Bates scored 13 straight points in the third quarter, nine of them came on second chances.
"[Bates is] the number one offensive rebounding team in the conference, and we talked about that coming into the game," admitted Manning, "We talked about how important it is to not give them second chances, but they just outhustled us on the boards tonight."
Though Williams took an early 8-6 lead, Bates outscored them 17-8 the rest of the quarter to finish with a seven-point lead. The Ephs stormed right back in the second quarter, however, gradually chipping away at the Bobcats' lead until Gerig stole a telegraphed pass from Bates point guard Ariana Dalia and hit a layup in transition to give Williams a 34-33 lead – their first since early in the first quarter.
After Graff secured a difficult offensive rebound and hit a pretty-looking reverse layup to give Bates the lead back, Meehan tied the game after drawing a foul on Mia Roy and making one of two free throws. Though Long hit a layup to put Bates up by two with 1:15 to go, Holtze responded on the Ephs' next possession with a three to give the Ephs' a 38-37 lead that held until halftime.
The first half of tonight's game was perhaps Williams' best offensive performance in a half this season. Meehan led the Ephs' offensive surge with 15 points on 7 for 13 (53.8%) shooting in the first half alone. Mandyck, Gerig, and Holtze were the only other Ephs to score in the half, however.
Bates took the lead for good in the third quarter on a 13-0 run that spanned more than seven minutes, consistently giving themselves second chances with key offensive rebounds. The run turned a one-point deficit into a 12-point advantage, but Williams struck back with under 30 seconds to go in the quarter. Mandyck made the first of two free throws and missed the second, but Gerig secured a key offensive rebound and kicked it out to Biesbrock, who hit a three to make it a seven-point game.
Meehan's two free throws early in the fourth quarter made it a five-point game at 54-49. Dalia, however, hit a three-pointer to give Bates the momentum back. After a Gerig free throw, Graff responded with a three of her own to give Bates a double-digit lead once again. The Ephs didn't get within less than eight points for the rest of the game.
"We're not consistent yet," said Manning. "We're still getting to that point where we're able to put together a solid 40 minutes. Tonight, we put together a solid 34 minutes, but it's not enough when you're playing a really good team."
Tomorrow at 3PM, the Ephs will finish their regular season against Tufts (17-3). The Tufts matchup will also be the team's senior game.
