Lewiston, ME.— The Ephs scored 26 points in the third quarter, leading to an eight point lead going into the final period. In the fourth, Williams (14-7, 5-2 NESCAC) controlled the pace and widened their lead to beat Bates (9-9, 2-4 NESCAC) 61-51.
The Bobcats ended the first half with a bang. With 49 seconds left, Bates' Alexandra Long put up a three. Though it was too strong, she grabbed her own rebound and sent the ball to the NESCAC's leading scorer, Meghan Graff, for another attempt. Graff sunk it, and the game was tied at 22 apiece. The Ephs went the other way, but Long came up with a steal and the ball went back to the Bobcats' end.
With just eight seconds left, Graff put up a three, and though the Ephs' Arianna Gerig got a piece of the ball, a Bates player was able to pull down the rebound and make the last second putback to take the lead, 24-22.
Despite the rapid swing in favor of the Bobcats, the Ephs came out of the locker room with energy and focus, starting neck-and-neck with Bates in a 9-8 (Bobcats) scoring exchange, but then pulling forward with a barrage of layups, threes, and foul shots. The effort started in the locker room, as Eph head coach Pat Manning noted that "we focused on coming out really strong in the third, and we did."
The quarter was buttoned up by a top of the key buzzer-beating three for Maddy Mandyck to give Williams an eight point lead. "That's probably the best third quarter we've played all year," said Manning after the game.
The Ephs followed up their sensational third quarter with a display of their patience and defensive prowess. The Bobcats did not score until Williams had a 14-point lead with three minutes left to play. Though Bates fought back, narrowing the score to seven at one point, Williams kept control of the game and made almost 88% of their foul shots to widen their lead to ten by the game's finish.
The teams started slow this afternoon. The first thirteen attempts of the game ended in misses for the Bobcats and the Ephs, as defensive energy was strong from the tip. The Ephs picked up two points from the line in this period from Ryann Taylor, who's shooting 94% from the stripe on the season.
After the Bobcats scored their first point with a layup, the Ephs' Arianna Gerig responded with a layup on the fast break and a free throw line jumper. Mia Holtze came into the game with two minutes left to play and nailed a three on the very next possession. She also made the last shot of the quarter, pulling up at the elbow for two and setting the score to 11-6.
The second quarter was the only quarter won by the Bobcats. They outscored the Ephs 18-11, spurred on by four crucial offensive rebounds and four made threes. Bates' Alexandra Long seemed to catch fire, drilling two threes in the quarter, but Mia Holtze responded after both shots with makes of her own, stemming the Bobcats' momentum. While Williams maintained the lead for most of the quarter, Bates took the lead at the end with their miraculous play in the last fifty seconds.
Five Ephs contributed to the 26 point effort in the third, and Williams' defense kept the Bobcats to just 16 points. Ball movement was key, as the Ephs tallied 7 assists in the quarter as well.
In the fourth, pace slowed way down, and Williams scored the only six points of the first seven minutes. In the next minute and change, Bates staged a last-ditch comeback effort and went on a 7-0 run, but with just under two minutes to play, they were forced to foul to get the ball back and the Ephs shot very efficiently from the line, ending the game with a double-digit lead.
Eph head coach Pat Manning expressed her pride in this afternoon's team win: "I give a lot of credit to our players— to be able to come back after a disappointing night and play like that, with such determination."
Manning also highlighted a few stand out performances this afternoon. "Mia made a huge difference for us. I mean, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 threes— at key times too, when we really needed a boost. In the first quarter neither team could seem to put the ball in the basket, Mia came in and made a difference right away."
"I think Maddy was a major force too," she continued: "16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks, and Arianna the same: 4 blocks, 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6-6 from the line. [They all] stepped up when we needed them to."
Meghan Graff is currently the NESCAC's leading scorer, at 21.9 ppg. With just 12 points today, coach Manning thought that "this is the best we've played her in four years. She's such a talented player, she's just a dynamic scorer. I think Cortland and Devin did a great job on defense. The way we started the game with our defense, that's what was missing last night, so that's what we really stressed for this game today."
The final element from the game that Manning commented on was pace— exemplified by Bates' scoreless first seven minutes of the fourth. "We wanted to use our possession, because Bates is very explosive," she said. "They're a very talented team and they're number one in the conference in scoring. We're better when we're a little more patient, so we ran the shot clock down. That was our goal and then we got better looks."
After a stretch of six away games, the Ephs will return to Chandler Gym this upcoming Friday to face the 19-1 Trinity Bantams. The game will take place at 7PM.
