Box Score AMHERST, MASS.— The Williams College Ephs (7-7, 0-1, NESCAC) fell to the Amherst College Mammoths (11-0, 1-0, NESCAC) in their first NESCAC match-up of the season.
The Ephs outscored the Mammoths in the fourth quarter 26-16 to build back from the Mammoths outscoring them 21-10 in the first quarter, but the Mammoths held on for the victory. Junior forward
Arianna Gerig achieved a double double today with 33 points and 13 rebounds and Sophomore guard
Logan Coster scored 12 points.
The Mammoths outscored the Ephs on a 15-2 run during the first quarter. The ball rimmed out of the basket multiple times on layups for the Ephs. To make the game 6-5, from the baseline, guard
Ellie Tounkara passed the ball back up to junior
Kate Keenan on the arc, putting it in for a 3. And, to end the quarter, forward
Arianna Gerig dribbled right, taking defenders with her, passed to junior
Cortland McBarron who dribbled and took defenders with her, leaving guard
Kate Keenan open for the quick 3.
The 2
nd quarter moved quickly at the start and then slowed in the later half. On a fast break, guard
Cortland McBarron cut to the hoop and quickly put the ball up for 2 off a pass from junior
Kate Keenan, Mammoths leading 25-16. The Ephs' defense held the Mammoths scoreless in the 2
nd half of the 2
nd quarter, trying to close the 19-point lead the Mammoths had opened up. The half ended leaving the Ephs behind 41-27 after the Mammoths scored a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. The Ephs scored 9 out of 11 free throw attempts bring up their FT% to 81.8 as well.
The Mammoths and Ephs scored evenly 15-14 in 3
rd quarter matching baskets and both sides showing strong defense. First Year forward
Mairi Smith blocked a layup by Mammoth Anna Tranum and on the offensive side followed it up with a jumper to make it 43-33 Mammoths. Junior
Arianna Gerig took the game from 48-33 to 48-38 with 2 free throws, and after a Mammoth pass in, she stole it, laid it up, and got the and 1 free throw.
In the 4
th quarter,
Sarah Batra who came in off the bench in the last minute of the 3
rd quarter put up 6 points in her first 2 minutes on the court. A basket by first-year
Tatum Leuenberger brought the Ephs within 10-points of the Mammoths 58-48. Off of a missed layup by Leuenberger, guard
Logan Coster followed it up and put it back up for 2 bringing the Mammoths lead down to 8, 58-50. Off a pass from junior
Cortland McBarron, guard
Tatum Leuenberger drained a quick 3, and the Mammoths led 60-53.
Arianna Gerig went on a run, bringing the Ephs within one possession of the Mammoths scoring 10 of the Ephs points from 60-53 to 68-65. She dribbled left and right, she floated one up, she scored a long 2, and drained 2 free throws. Off of a pass from
Cortland McBarron o
Arianna Gerig drained a long 3 to bring the Ephs within 1 point of the Mammoths. However, the Mammoths scored two free throws to claim a 71-68 win.
Eph head coach
Pat Manning said, "The first quarter really hurt us. We just didn't come out with the intensity we needed to in the first half. I'm proud of the team for the 2
nd half.
Sarah Batra came in hot off the bench for us at the end of the 3
rd, hitting some key-timed shots for us, so did
Logan Coster. They sparked the second half for us. It was a tough loss for us today, but I'm just proud of how we played the in the 2
nd half. We need to put together forty minutes like that instead of just twenty. This is league play, and we have Hamilton tomorrow. So, we'll let this one go and move on ahead to tomorrow."
The Ephs next game will keep them on the road to Clinton, New York where they will play Hamilton College on Saturday at 3pm.
