Williams Out-rebounds Hamilton, Taking a 67-58 Victory

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS.— This afternoon Williams (10-5, 1-1 NESCAC) pulled down eleven more boards than Hamilton (7-5, 0-2 NESCAC) en route to a 67-58 win. 

The Ephs headed into the fourth quarter with a seven point lead, but the Continentals would do everything they could to turn the game around. Starting with free throws on the first possession of the period, Hamilton scored once from the line, two layups, and a three in the first four minutes of the quarter. One free throw in the same time frame for the Ephs would leave the game tied up at 52 apiece. 

Williams maintained the composure they had shown throughout the day, and struck back, pulling away from the Continentals. With 1:05 left, Hamilton scored a layup to put themselves within four, but as time was running out they were forced to foul. 

Williams shot 80% from the line this afternoon and 100% in the last minute of play— free throws from Arianna Gerig and Devin Biesbrock iced the game. 



Hamilton put up the first points of the game, scoring from the stripe following a foul in the lane. Two more layups would put them up five. Gerig got the first points for the Ephs, scoring a layup. 

Both teams found opportunities to exploit sloppy rotations in the first quarter, with Cortland McBarron finding herself open under the basket at 6:35, getting a layup-and-one. Just a few plays later, the Continentals would pass through a Williams double team for an easy bucket of their own. 

Going into the final seconds of the quarter, both teams had racked up 13 points, but selfless play put Williams up going into the second. Driving off a "horns" screen, Devin Biesbrock passed to Maddy Mandyck. With one more pass, Mandyck found Gerig— who buried the short corner jumper to put the Ephs up 15-13. 

The second quarter started out with a two minute scoring drought, broken by Gerig with a pair of made shots from the stripe. In response, the Continentals scored the first three of the game, and another three soon after put them ahead, 19-17. 

The teams would go back and forth for the next few minutes, but Williams would find another gear to round out the half, going on an 11-2 run topped off by a buzzer-beating three from Mia Holtze. 

Pushing forward in the third, Devin Biesbrock would sink a three of her own to bring the Ephs' lead into double digits. For the next three and a half minutes, Hamilton pushed the pace, putting up eight shots to the Ephs' three and outscoring Williams by eight to bring the game back into contention. 

Williams would take the slight edge for the rest of the quarter, as five Ephs scored to bring the lead to seven at the beginning of the final period. Though the Continentals fought back, they couldn't keep the pressure on and the Ephs pulled through to get the 67-58 win. 

A key stat in the eyes of Eph head coach Pat Manning was rebounding, as the team has struggled to get consistent boards. "In the last couple of games— against WPI and against Amherst— we gave up boards in the first half, and then in the second half we were a totally different team and rebounded better. We were like: 'Why are we doing this? Why are we like the tale of two halves? We need to put it together.' So it was a real point of emphasis for us, and Hamilton's a really good rebounding team. They average almost 44 rebounds a game, they had 17 O-boards last night against Middlebury— they're a really talented rebounding team. So to win both halves [of rebounding] is a giant step for us."

Getting to the line was also a key contributor to this afternoon's win— the Ephs made 24 of their 30 free throw attempts. "That's another area where we're really looking to improve. Early in the season we were only getting to the line like four, five times, and now that's an emphasis for us. We were attacking the hoop better," said Manning on the team's improved aggressiveness. 

Coach Manning gave special recognition to a few players who played crucial minutes off the bench, saying: "Shout-out to Ellie Tounkara. She came in, one for one shooting, four for four from the line, played really good D— made good passes, good decisions. I thought the same thing for Mia Holtze. I thought she came in with some key baskets and really key rebounds." 

Reflecting on the game's outcome, Manning said: "This was a great win for us. The game after an Amherst game is a tough game. For us to have that quick turnover after such a disappointing end yesterday, and to put it together was big."

The team will go on the road to Maine next weekend. They'll play Colby in Waterville at 7 PM on Friday to kick off their trip, and then play Bowdoin at 3 PM on Saturday in Brunswick.