NEW YORK CITY, NY – The Williams College Ephs (6-6, 0-0, NESCAC) lost to Berry College Vikings (6-5, 1-0, SAA) today 65-57.
The Ephs' full court defense in the 4
th helped them to outscore the Vikings 24-20; however, it was not quite enough to build back from the first quarter where the Vikings outscored the Ephs 20-8.
Cortland McBarron had 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, and
Tatum Leuenberger scored 13 points and added 8 rebounds. Eph head coach
Pat Manning said, "
Cortland McBarron had an outstanding two games in the tournament, and
Logan Coster and
Tatum Leuenberger really played well for us off the bench today."
To start off the 1
st quarter, junior forward
Arianna Gerig took the ball to the basket and laid it up for 2. Then, quickly after, the Ephs scored again when first year
Mairi Smith rebounded from under the basket. For the rest of the quarter, the Vikings' offense, scoring 20 points, took advantage of their defense which kept the Ephs to just 8 points.
In the 2
nd quarter, forward
Mairi Smith banked a 2 from underneath the basket and completed the 3-point play opportunity. In the following play on defense,
Arianna Gerig forced a Vikings guard into an over and back giving possession to the Ephs. The Ephs scored. In their next offensive possession,
Arianna Gerig passed to junior guard
Cortland McBarron on a fast break for 2, bringing the game to 23-15 Vikings. The Vikings though took a 35-21 lead at the half.
The Vikings opened with an 8-point run against the Ephs in the 3
rd quarter, but first year guard
Tatum Leuenberger broke that run with a jump shot assisted by
Logan Coster.
Cortland McBarron passed down court to sophomore guard
Logan Coster. With a quick stop, Coster evaded her Vikings' defender and completed an open jump shot for 2, making the score 43-25 Vikings.
Tatum Leuenberger ended the quarter with a 3 pointer for the Ephs.
On a fast break,
Cortland McBarron passed to junior forward
Arianna Gerig who floated the ball up for 2; she was fouled and she converted the and 1. The Ephs' full court defense pressured the Vikings, resulting in a 10 second violation. The Ephs gained possession and
Logan Coster took the ball up inside for 2. The Ephs then stole the ball right next to the basket and junior guard
Ellie Tounkara scored a quick 2 from underneath, making the score 57-49 Vikings.
Cortland McBarron added a 3-point play. Quickly following,
Tatum Leuenberger drained a 3-pointer, making it a 2-point game, 57-55 Vikings with 1:30 left in the game. The Vikings built their lead back to 65-57 with free throws to claim the win.
Eph head coach
Pat Manning said, "We fought hard coming back in the 4
th quarter and mid-way through the 3
rd, but we just got off to a slow start. We didn't put it all together until later. It was a disappointing couple of days for us, but we will take the break to regroup and get ready for NESCAC play."
The Ephs next game will be back in Massachusetts against Worchester Polytechnical Institute in Worcester at 6pm on January 2
nd.
