Miami Shores, Florida – The Williams College Ephs (7-3) played the second of their two-game back-to-back in the Cruzin Classic Tournament against the undefeated #9 Gettysburg College Bullets now 9-1.
Arianna Gerig's efficient and clutch 27 points along with strong team defense ended Gettysburg's winning streak in a tight back-and-forth contest. With their 58-54 win today, Williams wins both of their Florida games.
Senior captain
Arianna Gerig continued where she left off yesterday with her successful inside finishing. A showcase of drives led to her scoring an early six points for the 8-2 Williams start to the game. Gettysburg fought back making quick substitutions in a team effort of varied scoring to get back into the game. While Williams shot efficiently in the first half, their 11 first-half turnovers, an attribute of their play that has haunted them this season, allowed the Bullets to keep it competitive, 13-9 before the second quarter.
Logan Coster broke the ice for the Ephs at the start of the second with a clean mid-range floater. The Bullets adapted and played a form of offense quite similar to Williams focusing on the fast-break and methodical ball movement into the paint. In the second quarter, they began to convert their attempts. The game turned into a back-and-forth of close-range jumpers and contested lay-ups with multiple lead changes. Most of the Eph offense came from Gerig and her frequent driving but on the defensive side, both teams turned up the intensity. For Gettysburg, they played a smothering half-court defense that hunted for the steals. For Williams,
Cortland McBarron and
Mairi Smith had tough assignments but their blocks and strong contesting of shots gave the Bullets a hard time. At the end of the first half, it was a tight 24-23 Williams lead.
Looking determined at the beginning of the second half it did not take long for Gettysburg to retake the lead with their flurry of close-range shots and a three to end their deep shooting drought. Four points for McBarron and another two for Gerig shrunk the Gettysburg lead to 2 before an Eph timeout. The few next minutes proved vital for the Ephs with
Ellie Tounkara's free-throws and
Tatum Leuenberger's two points and two steals in the third, 36-34 Williams. Nearing the end of the quarter, Gerig had a beautiful assist to Leuenberger for the easy two but with time dwindling down, the Bullets drained a long-two. However, with a handful of seconds, Walton charged down-court and drained a moving mid-range jumper. It was tied at 42 heading into the final quarter.
This quarter did not begin the way that Williams wanted with Gettysburg going on an early 6-0 run before an Eph timeout, 48-42. The issue for Williams was an uncharacteristic rebounding discrepancy with the Bullets bringing down 12 more boards in the game, especially damaging were their 16 offensive boards to Williams' 7. The 6-0 run soon became 10-0 before Gerig converted an and-one to keep Williams's chances alive, 52-45 Bullets. Gerig grabbed a front-court steal on Gettsburg's next possession and picked up a clear path foul giving her a chance at two free throws and a guaranteed possession. She would make both and then on the offensive end, she got fouled again and made both. Gerig's five straight free throws and a three-point bomb from Tounkara tied the game at 52. With three minutes left in the game, it was Gettysburg time at the line where they too made both, 54-52.
However, an offensive rebound by McBarron made it possible for Walton to score a layup off a drive, tied again. Walton came right back down the court and scored again to take the lead with just over a minute left. Williams kept rolling with a timely steal from Gerig giving the Ephs a chance to deliver the dagger. While Williams did not convert on the offensive end, Leuenberger's defense led to Gettysburg missing their chance at forcing the tie. Gerig delivered two more free throws to ice the game with the final score being 58-54. Gerig totaled 53 points in the two Cruzin Classic Tournament contests.
On the impressive victory and the late-game comeback, Eph head coach
Pat Manning said, "It was such a great game. Both teams played so hard and competed so hard. It had the feel of a playoff game. They went on their run and we went down 10 but we kept our cool. Arianna took over the game and Micah made good decisions. Their run came from offensive rebounds and we cleaned that up down the stretch. I'm so happy for our team. This team just wants to get better and be coachable. They work so hard and today we put it all together."
This surging Williams roster gets a break before their next game against Little Three rival Wesleyan University on Saturday, January 4th at 3:30 pm in Middletown, Connecticut.
