Medford, MASS.— Though the Ephs had flashes of greatness, they couldn't maintain their composure throughout the game, committing 25 turnovers and giving up 16 offensive boards. Tufts (13-6, 4-1 NESCAC) played intensely on both ends, and defeated Williams (13-7, 4-2 NESCAC) 64-50.
Though the Ephs faced a 13 point deficit going into the game's last quarter, they didn't give up without a fight. In the first possession of the fourth, Arianna Gerig rolled to the hoop for two easy points. She would determine the pace for the next three minutes, scoring or assisting Williams' next nine points.
When Tufts' Sofia Gonzales— who's averaging almost 39% from three— sank a shot from behind the arc, Gerig responded on the other end, sinking a three of her own. Unfortunately, the momentum seemed to dissipate after the shot, as Williams only made 25% of their attempts to finish out the game.
Tufts took back the reins and added on 15 points to finish out the quarter while Williams only scored 7 more. Though the Ephs found themselves within six twice in the final period, the game ended with a larger deficit and the Jumbos won 64-50.
The first quarter started well for the Ephs. Devin Biesbrock, just coming back from injury, scored a jumper and a three in the first few minutes of play. An additional two points from Arianna Gerig gave Williams a 7-2 lead with 6:30 left in the quarter.
But, in a preview of things to come, the Jumbos went on a 15-3 run to finish out the quarter, scoring from a variety of spots on the court. The turnovers were especially punishing in the first— the Ephs committed 11 turnovers to the Jumbos' 4. Though both teams' shooting percentages were in the mid 30s, Tufts got five more looks than the Ephs and finished out the quarter with a seven point lead.
The Jumbos played unchecked physical defense on the perimeter in the first quarter, but the officiating seemed to change in the second. Tufts was called for three fouls in the first two minutes, with two hand-checking fouls called on the first play alone.
With these fouls, the Jumbos grew timid, and the Ephs took advantage of the weaker defense, scoring a three followed by two layups to get within two of Tufts. After a sloppy few possessions for both teams, Arianna Gerig pulled up to tie the game at 19 apiece.
Led by back-to-back threes from Sofia Gonzales, who shot 44% from behind the arc on the night, Tufts pushed ahead again. Cortland McBarron drew two fouls, and shot 4-4 at the stripe to keep the Ephs in the game. Maddy Mandyck added on a layup. At halftime the score was 29-25 Tufts.
Williams surged forward again. McBarron and Mandyck, who had scored to end the half, picked up where they left off with two points each. The Jumbos stemmed the bleeding quickly and were deadly on the fast break— a fact that contributed to their 54% shooting in the quarter. While the Ephs had seemed poised to even up the game, Tufts led by thirteen to end the quarter.
In the fourth, Gerig pushed forward, spurred on by an in-rhythm three from Kate Keenan, and Mandyck and McBarron scored five and two respectively. Williams had their best quarter of the game, scoring nineteen points, but Tufts did even better, scoring twenty in the fourth to end the game at 64-50.
A part of the Ephs' offensive struggles may have chalked up to communication issues and a lack of patience. "We weren't in sync," said Eph head coach Pat Manning. "I don't think we were keyed in on every possession, and we were trying to come up with "the big play". There were some possessions where we worked the ball, and we got the shot we wanted, but that wasn't consistent."
Coach Manning also pointed out that "some of [the difficulty] had to do with Tufts' defense too, because they really made us work for everything we got. We weren't as sharp as we'd been the last couple of weeks. We didn't stay in the moment and take it one play at a time."
Manning commented about what made the team successful in spurts, saying "When we moved the ball and got four or five passes, we got the shot we wanted. There were times when we were composed, really ran our offense, and got good shots. But we just weren't consistent with that… When we were on our run we didn't get the defensive stops that we needed."
Despite the tough loss, the team's focus will be moving forward and preparing for tomorrow's battle against Bates. "It was a good fight," said Manning, "but as our philosophy has been all year, whatever happens Friday, let it go and focus on the next one. We're heading up to Bates now— we'll regroup and be ready to go tomorrow."
The Ephs will continue their road trip with a game against Bates in Lewiston, Maine— tomorrow at 3PM.
