WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. – The Williams College Ephs (8-9, 1-3, NESCAC) lost to No. 15 Bowdoin College (15-1, 3-0, NESCAC) 54-51.
Congratulations to junior
Arianna Gerig who reached her 1000
th career point, scoring 20 points on the game with 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. She is the 18
th Eph to join the 1000-point club. Her teammates and fans greeted her with balloons, signs, hugs, and congratulations after the game. It was a battle of defenses and grit as both teams rebounded, blocked, and stole from one another. First-year
Mairi Smith scored 12 points with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. First-year
Tatum Leuenberger had 6 rebounds and 2 blocks of her own.
The 1
st quarter was a defensive battle with both teams scoreless in the first 2 minutes. In sequence, first-year
Mairi Smith blocked a layup on the baseline, guard
Cortland McBarron scored a jumper for Williams. Again on defense,
Mairi Smith denied another shot, forcing a Polar Bear turnover. Junior
Ellie Tounkara utilized her dribbling skills to drive into the key and find several teammates on their cuts from the opposite side to score a basket. The quarter ended 14-11 with the Ephs leading.
First-year
Tatum Leuenberger forced a Polar Bear out off a rebound from an Eph free throw. The Ephs were able to take advantage of this and forward
Mairi Smith performed a pick-and-roll play in the key, assisted by
Arianna Gerig, she scored the 2. On the following Eph scoring attempt, junior
Arianna Gerig dribbled in from the top-left side of the arc and found
Mairi Smith open again for a 2 to make the Ephs lead 18-11. Guard
Tatum Leuenberger drained a 3-pointer. The Polar Bears were called on 2 illegal screens and they started to apply full-court defense against the Ephs.
Arianna Gerig stepped back, let the ball fly, and it fell in to make the game 27-13, for the Ephs biggest lead in the game. The quarter ended with a Polar Bear 8 point run from 13 to 21; Ephs still led 27-21.
In the 3
rd quarter, guard
Arianna Gerig floated the ball up to the basket for 2. From Ari to Mairi, Gerig found Smith on the inside of the key; she dribbled once and pushed in to put it up for 2 and make the game 31-25 Ephs. Junior
Cortland McBarron passed to
Arianna Gerig from the defensive baseline. Gerig dribbled down to offensive end and bounce-passed to sophomore
Logan Coster who laid it up for 2.
Arianna Gerig took the Ephs from 33 to 41 with 2 free throws, a jumper, a layup and secured 2 more free throws. The quarter ended 41-37; Ephs.
To open the 4
th quarter, twice, guard
Logan Coster jumped and floated the ball up and over the Bowdoin defense in the key for 2, leading the Ephs to a 43-37 lead. The Polar Bears went on a 7-point run, bringing it to a one possession game with 4:42 left in the quarter. The Polar Bears scored a basket and a 3 to try and pull away in the last 2 minutes of the quarter, but
Arianna Gerig found
Mairi Smith again at 1:33 for an open 2. This brought Williams to 47 within one possession of the Polar Bears. However, at 26.6, Bowdoin scored a 3-pointer.
Arianna Gerig drove in to score, was fouled, and sank both free throws. With 21.5 seconds left, the game was 52-49 Bowdoin. With possession and 14.3 seconds left, the Ephs called a time-out.
Arianna Gerig scored a key-timed lay-up with 6 seconds left to being the Ephs within 1 point and put her over 1,000 career points. However, Bowdoin scored 2 free throws to win 54-51.
Eph head coach
Pat Manning said, "This was a tremendous game. I thought
Mairi Smith had a tremendous game with 12 rebounds and her defense was awesome with 2 blocks. She hit key shots for us today.
Logan Coster had a great weekend overall. She came in and definitely made her presence felt in offense and defense.
Pat Manning also commented on
Arianna Gerig's performance today specifically: "
Arianna Gerig always has tough defenders on her. She had a fantastic weekend. She always draws the other team's best defender. So, the fact that she has achieved this milestone in her junior year is a remarkable accomplishment. She's an explosive player and has spent a lot of time on her game and is truly a student of the game. She studies film and works for everything she gets. That's why I'm so happy for her today. She is such a competitor that it is exciting to see her growth from freshman year to now and what's still to come."
Pat Manning added, "We appreciated the support of the fans out there tonight against Bowdoin and look forward to having more against Amherst on Wednesday."
