WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – In their final regular-season game of 2021-22, the Williams Ephs (9-14, 3-7 NESCAC) fell behind in the third quarter against the Tufts Jumbos (19-3, 8-2 NESCAC), but mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter than got them within one possession. The Jumbos, however, ultimately prevailed in a tight, 69-64 game.
The result was similar to yesterday's game against Bates, in which the Ephs held a small lead at halftime but struggled on both ends of the floor in the third quarter. While the Ephs made the game closer in the fourth quarter today than they did against Bates, they couldn't quite overcome a double-digit deficit against a strong opponent.
"We can play with anybody, but we just have to get over the hump," remarked Eph head coach
Pat Manning following the defeat. "It seems to hurt us in every game, where we have this little stretch where we go cold and the other team heats up. We have to be able to withstand their runs and come out with fire in the third quarter."
Today, the Ephs celebrated
Maggie Meehan '22, the team's lone senior and the 13
th Eph to score more than 1,000 points in a Williams uniform. Meehan, who led the team with 13.8 points per game coming into today, scored 22 points on 11 for 26 (42.3%) shooting and, along with forward
Arianna Gerig '25, who scored 22 points of her own, was the driving force behind the Williams offense all game.
"They both exploded," commented Manning when asked about Meehan's and Gerig's performances. "They're both explosive offensive players and they can score a lot of points in a hurry."
The Jumbos, like the Ephs, had two 20-point scorers in forwards Sofia Rosa (22p, 7r) and Maggie Russell (20p, 16r). While both members of Tufts' starting frontcourt played outstanding games, Russell in particular made key baskets after Williams runs, including two consecutive three-pointers to close out the first half and a layup that gave the Jumbos some breathing room after Williams came within two points late in the fourth quarter.
For the Ephs, forward
Maddy Mandyck (6p, 9r) put together a solid all-around game, and six of her nine rebounds came on the offensive end. Center
Priscilla Singleton-Eriyo (4p, 5r) '23 played some valuable minutes off the bench, and guard
Cortland McBarron '25 (2p, 2r) didn't necessarily stuff the stat sheet offensively but played excellent defense throughout.
Despite some sloppy play early on – including six turnovers in the first quarter alone – the Jumbos still finished the quarter with an 18-15 lead. But the Ephs outscored them 16-9 in the second, including a 10-0 run that featured six points by Meehan and turned a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Though Tufts' Maggie Russell hit a three from the top of the key to break the run, Meehan responded with a long, shot clock-beating baseline jumper to put the Ephs' lead back to seven. Russell, however, hit another three from nearly the same location to make it a four-point, 31-27 game at halftime.
The third quarter, however, was all Tufts. Gerig picked up her third foul with 6:36 to go, which came towards the beginning of a 14-0 Jumbos run that gave them a double-digit lead for the first time all game at 45-35. Gerig hit a layup to put Williams back on the board, but Alibrandi and O'Brien hit a layup and three-pointer, respectively, to put the Jumbos back up 13. In the end, Tufts outscored Williams 23-8 in the quarter, and led by 11 at the end of the period.
The Ephs, led by Meehan and Gerig, stormed back in the fourth. Meehan reignited the Williams offense early in the fourth with a difficult fadeaway jump shot from the left baseline with 8:45 to play, and after Rosa responded with a layup, Meehan hit a nearly identical shot to make it a nine-point game. Tufts still led by nine at 58-49 with 6:16 left to play, but a three by Biesbrock, a jumper by Meehan, and a difficult layup in traffic by Gerig – on three consecutive possessions – narrowed the deficit to just two with 4:05 left.
Russell and Alibrandi, however, hit layups on consecutive possessions to bring the Tufts lead back to six. The Ephs couldn't get within one possession for the rest of the game; their best chance came when the Jumbos turned the ball over on a pass out of bounds by guard Annika Decker with 35 seconds to go. However, Meehan missed a jump shot on the Ephs' next possession and the Jumbos sealed the game from there.
Williams shot a respectable 26 for 71 (36.6%) from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc, going just 2 for 15 (13.3%). Tufts, on the other hand, shot a more efficient 24 for 57 (42.1%), including a 6 for 15 (40.0%) mark from deep. While the Jumbos outrebounded the Ephs 44-35, Williams, managed 17 offensive rebounds which led to 14 second-chance points. Tufts effectively secured second chances as well with 15 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds. Williams turned the ball over just 8 times, compared to 18 for Tufts, and the Ephs outscored the Jumbos 14-7 on points off turnovers.
Despite the final score, the Ephs still fought valiantly against a Tufts team that retained four of its five starters from their 28-1 season in 2019-20. "[The team was] playing for Maggie today, and everybody just brought it," said Manning. "I'm really proud of their effort and their fight. We knew it was going to be a fight for 40 minutes, and even when we couldn't seem to score, we were still fighting and working like crazy. It'll pay off."
This Friday night, the Ephs, who have clinched the #8 seed in the NESCAC tournament, will host either Connecticut College or Hamilton (the #9 seed) in the first round of the tournament. When asked about the team's atttitude going into postseason play, Manning was confident that the past few games have helped the team become more resilient and ready for the upcoming tournament. "Tufts has a lot of balance, and for us to be able to challenge them like we did and be in a position to win down the stretch is a confidence booster for our young players. Now, it's the postseason, and anything can happen in the postseason."
