WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – It wasn't pretty, but the Williams Ephs (10-14, 3-7 NESCAC) pulled away in the fourth quarter against the Connecticut College Camels (4-17, 2-6 NESCAC) to earn a 40-31 win and advance to the NESCAC quarterfinal.
"I give Conn a lot of credit," commented Eph head coach Pat Manning following the gritty win. "They play so hard, and they make you work for everything you get, and that's what we had to do. Nothing came easy."
Despite scoring a season-low 40 points and struggling on offense for the majority of the game, the Ephs dominated the boards. Williams outrebounded Conn by a nearly two-to-one, 54-29 margin, including an even more lopsided 20-5 advantage in offensive rebounding. Guard Devin Biesbrock '23 scored a game-high 14 points and hit all four of the Ephs' four three-pointers.
"We don't often cruise into our wins; we have to fight," remarked Eph head coach Pat Manning following the gritty win. "The resilience and the gutsiness that it takes to pull this kind of win out is big."
Biesbrock's career-high four threes – one in each quarter – told the story of the game. Her first came early in the first quarter and gave the Ephs an early 9-2 lead. After Williams fell behind towards the end of the first half, Biesbrock hit a second three, a buzzer-beater, to tie the game at 15. Trailing 25-24 at the end of the third quarter, the Ephs' third-year guard hit her most consequential three-pointer of the game, beating the shot-clock buzzer off an inbound pass by guard Maggie Meehan '22 with just one second left on the shot clock. Finally, in the fourth quarter, Biesbrock hit one last three-pointer to give the Ephs a double-digit lead and effectively seal the game.
"Devin was the shining star," said Manning. "All of her shots were at such critical times, and it wasn't like she hurried them. Even with one second left, she knew she just had time to catch and put it right back up, and she did. Totally changed the game."
Forward Maddy Mandyck '23 (10p, 12r) secured the game's only double-double and dominated in the paint, especially in the second half. Forward Arianna Gerig (8p, 9r, 4s) nearly notched a double-double as well and made key plays on defense that turned the momentum in the Ephs' favor even when they were struggling to score. Meehan (6p, 4r) didn't have her most efficient shooting night, going just 2 for 12 (16.7%), but the Eph captain's leadership made a significant difference in what was likely her final home game as an Eph.
Though no Camel scored in double digits, guard-forward Jaycie Rojik, guard Emily Tripp, and forward Rebecca-Oberman Levine combined to score 23 of the Camels' 31 points. Rojik, who led the team with 11.0 PPG in the regular season, went just 4 for 18 (22.2%) from the field.
Both teams played cold on offense for most of the first half. After taking an early 9-2 lead on a three-pointer by Biesbrock with 4:01 to play in the first quarter, the Ephs didn't hit another field goal for another 10:28 of game time. In those ten-plus minutes, Conn went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-10 lead before Gerig – who registered two steals and a block on consecutive possessions – hit a layup on the last of those possessions to give the Ephs the lead back.
Though Conn scored four straight points on two free throws by Tripp and a difficult reverse layup by Donadio with 12 seconds to go in the half, Biesbrock hit a buzzer-beating three from the top of the key to tie it at 15-15. Despite Biesbrock's clutch shot, however, the Ephs still finished the first half with more turnovers (16) than points and shot just 6 for 25 (24.0%) from the floor. The Camels, however, struggled just as much shooting the ball, going 6 for 28 (21.4%). 12 of Conn College's 15 first-half points came off of Eph turnovers.
In the third, Oberman-Levine and Rojik hit short jumpers to give Conn a four-point lead, but the Ephs fought back to make it a one-point game with under a minute to go in the quarter. Biesbrock's third three gave Williams a 27-25 lead at the end of the third quarter that they wouldn't surrender for the rest of the game.
The Ephs scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, taking an eight-point lead with 7:36 left in the game. After Conn broke their scoring drought with a free throw by Tripp with 4:42 to go, Biesbrock immediately responded with her fourth and final three to give Williams a 36-26 lead – their largest of the game to that point – and put the game out of reach for the Camels.
"We wanted it so badly, especially after losing four games in a row and knowing that this is likely Maggie's last game at Chandler," admitted Manning when asked about whether the weight of the playoff environment affected the team's performance. "I do think that pressure hit us, and I think the first round of the playoffs is the hardest. You even see it in the Division I tournaments; it's hard for teams to always have smooth games."
On Sunday at 2PM, the Ephs will go on the road to play #1 seed Trinity. On February 8th, Williams lost the regular-season matchup 66-55 in a game that was closer than the score indicated. The Ephs will attempt to advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
