New London, Conn - - The Williams College Ephs (11-6) who have struggled in their past two NESCAC games had a chance to improve their record on the road against the Connecticut College Camels (10-8). The first three quarters were neck-and-neck but down the stretch the Williams defense ramped up. The Ephs forcied 25 turnovers in the game. Led by 21 points from
Arianna Gerig, four Eph players had double-digits and contributed to the final score of 65-52.
The Camels wasted no time getting on the board with a quick three but first-year guard
Micah Walton answered quickly with a three of her own. Conn College went on an early 6-0 run but
Arianna Gerig used her size and handle to respond, 15-11 Conn. The Camels strung together another run with 7 of their players scoring in the quarter compared to only 3 Ephs. Despite a late three from
Logan Coster, the Camels lead 22-14 heading into the second quarter.
Williams went on a run of their own to start the second quarter, which was very different from their first-quarter scoring.
Ellie Tounkara got on the board with a catch-and-shoot three and
Cortland McBarron did too with a pull-up jumper and a lay-up off a Walton assist, 22-21. The Ephs kept it coming with Walton making a free throw and Gerig finishing on a post play to tie the game at 24. The game stayed tied for the next few minutes until the Camels broke the silence with a late transition basket and three for a small 31-26 halftime lead.
At the beginning of the second half,
Mairi Smith got on the board with a three-point play. On the defensive end, Smith was a large factor in forcing shot-clock violations and keeping the Camels out of the paint. However, the familiar foe for the Ephs, outside defense, was present in this game with the Camels connecting on a wing three with an island of space, 34-33. Yet Williams got their first lead on a run orchestrated by Gerig. Her driving work earned the Ephs three points and she found
Tatum Leuenberger on the drive who finished down low, 38-34 Williams. Late into the quarter, the Eph defense played with a level of intensity not seen in their past two games. While it was a high turnover game for both teams, the Camels had 14 turnovers in the third and that totla could have been higher if not for their multiple timeouts before potential turnovers. This played a major role in Williams clawing back to take the lead and they went into the final quarter up 40-37.
Williams was not happy with their fourth-quarter performances in the past two games and Eph head coach
Pat Manning stressed to the team the importance of being collected down the stretch. This was certainly reflected in their play with an 11-0 run out of the gates. While the Eph defense played a large role here, McBarron had two mid-range jumpers and Tounkara had a three along with Gerig contributing with her slashing play style. This diverse offense overwhelmed the Camels who could not focus on just one Eph player, 51-37. Halfway through the quarter, Gerig delivered the dagger with a heavily contested driving and-one lay-up. The Williams offense did not stop there with Tounkara connecting on a top-of-the-key three, 59-45. With the help of some successful free throw shooting, Williams won the game 65-52.
On the much-needed win, coach
Pat Manning said, "The thing I like the most is that we were very efficient against their zone and we moved the ball very well. We shot 63% in the fourth quarter and four people had double figures. It was a big team win… Arianna had a great game all across the board. Her defense was what we needed and our team's defense too was very strong. We set the tone early and people followed suit. Our execution in this game was much better than our past two and we did not force shots. Our shot selection was much better and we spread the floor well. The win came down to proper execution of our game plans."
The next game for the Ephs is on the road on January 22nd at 7 pm in what will be the first of two games against rival Amherst College.
