MIDDLETOWN, CT – In a back-and-forth affair that featured 22 lead changes, the Williams Ephs (9-11, 3-4 NESCAC) ultimately fell to the Wesleyan Cardinals (10-10, 3-4 NESCAC), 62-57.
With just over 30 seconds on the clock and the Ephs trailing 58-57 with a chance to take the lead, Cardinals guard Caleigh Ryan stole an errant pass by Eph guard
Ellie Tounkara '25, intended for forward
Arianna Gerig '25. Wesleyan forward Emma Kiernan made the first free throw and missed the second, but guard Marina Petruzzi secured a crucial offensive rebound, allowing guard Maddie Clark to go to the line and make one of two free throws to increase the Wesleyan lead to three. Petruzzi then blocked a layup attempt by Eph guard
Maggie Meehan '22 with 21 seconds on the clock, effectively sealing the game.
"We played a great three quarters," admitted Eph head coach
Pat Manning following the close loss. "We fell apart a little defensively in the fourth quarter, and while we had chances, we didn't shoot well enough. When you do that, it's hard to win games."
Though the Ephs started strong on offense, scoring 23 points in the first quarter, they struggled to score late and were outscored 19-6 in the fourth, shooting just 1 for 14 (7.1%) from the field in the final quarter. Despite trailing by eight to begin the fourth quarter, Wesleyan made a successful comeback. The Cardinals took a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter and never trailed for the rest of the game.
"When they hit a couple of threes, that changed how we played on the offensive end," noted Manning. "We rushed our shots and turned the ball over too much, and we let their run get to us. We got really flustered and let when was happening on one end affect what was happening on the other."
The combination of Petruzzi (20p, 5r) and Ryan (13p, 15r) led the Cardinals' offense all game long, and Wesleyan's two stars were responsible for most of Wesleyan's scoring in the second half. While Petruzzi and shot an efficient 7 for 13 (53.8%) from the field, Ryan notched a double-double and led all players on either team in rebounding.
Meehan (19p) and Gerig (17p, 12r) combined for more than 60% of the Ephs' points, and forward
Maddy Mandyck '23 secured a team-high 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
One of the key reasons why Wesleyan surged ahead in the fourth quarter was their improved rebounding. "They definitely outrebounded us in the second half, but especially in the fourth quarter," commented Manning. "We gave them offensive rebounds – they had 17 of them – and a lot of them came late. They were able to control the clock down the stretch and get second chance after second chance."
Both offenses erupted early. After Meehan hit a floater off the glass on the Ephs' opening possession, Kaleigh Ryan responded with a make of her own, and the two teams went back and forth from there. Neither team led by more than three points for the entirety of the quarter, which ended with the Ephs up 23-20 thanks to a buzzer-beating three from the top of the key by Krivickas.
Early in the second quarter, Meehan hit a three-pointer to cap off a 9-2 run and give the Ephs a ten-point lead. The Cardinals, however, managed to cut the deficit to 36-32 at the half and held the Ephs to just four points in the final 5:34 of the quarter.
Petruzzi and Ryan sparked an 8-2 Wesleyan run to open the third, with Ryan hitting a layup to give the Cardinals a 40-38 lead, their first since the first quarter. After Gerig responded with a difficult, driving reverse layup to tie the game, Wesleyan guard Maggie Lee hit a three to give the Cardinals the lead back. The Ephs, however, then scored 11 straight points, the last seven of which came from Meehan or Gerig, on a run that spanned the rest of the third quarter and gave the Ephs an eight-point lead. Williams held Wesleyan scoreless for the last 5:12 of the quarter.
The Cardinals, however, managed just enough offense to pull through in the fourth. After the 10-0 run, once again spearheaded by Petruzzi and Ryan, Gerig responded with another difficult shot to tie the game, only for Petruzzi to immediately respond with a three that gave the Cardinals a 56-53 lead with 4:36 to play.
The Ephs chipped away at the Wesleyan lead with two free throws by Gerig, but Petruzzi hit an elbow jumper with exactly three minutes on the clock to give the Cardinals their three-point lead back. Gerig, however, drew another shooting foul and hit two more free throws to once again make it a one-point game and give the Ephs a chance to win it in the final minutes.
Williams, however, couldn't buy a game-changing shot.
Still, Manning noted that the Ephs moved the ball better on offense compared to their last two games, especially early on. "We talked last week about how our offense was kind of stagnant, but today, it was solid for the first three quarters. That was a definite improvement, where we seemed to have more flow to our offense. Now, it's about putting together 40 minutes and not 30 minutes."
On Tuesday at 7PM, the Ephs will play the final game of their four-game Connecticut road trip against Trinity (12-4, 4-1 NESCAC).
