Amherst, Mass - The Williams College Ephs (11-6) were on the road against their long-standing rival, the Amherst College Mammoths (12-4), in a non-conference game a few weeks before they meet again in conference play. Despite Williams out rebounding Amherst and having fewer turnovers, they were kept to 1-14 from three and 28.6% from the field. The Mammoths took the lead halfway through the second quarter and controlled the game to win 63-49.
To start the game, Williams executed their game plan flawlessly. Amherst went scoreless for the first 7 minutes with much credit to the Williams defense for shutting down the Mammoths and forcing them away from the three-point line.
Mairi Smith had the first points with a baby jumper on a play orchestrated by
Ellie Tounkara.
Micah Walton and
Cortland McBarron would each connect on a jumper of their own to give the Ephs an early 7-0 lead. In quick fashion, Amherst re-entered the game with the spark of a deep three and transition opportunities, 9-7 Williams. However, the Ephs closed out the quarter with a 6-0 run led by
Arianna Gerig and bench play from
Tatum Leuenberger and
Logan Coster, 15-11 heading into the second.
The story of the second quarter was much different than that of the first. The smooth shooting for Amherst became noticeable here with their spacing proving to be a major issue for the Ephs. Williams left many driving lanes with a comfortable amount of space for the Mammoths who were very comfortable driving in and finishing. For the Ephs, they stuck to their inside game but except for lay-ups from Smith and Walton, shots were not falling. Halfway through the quarter, Amherst tied the game at 20. The next few minutes were mostly stagnant for both teams until the Mammoths closed the half on a 13-0 run with the Williams defense getting sloppy and committing 3 consecutive shooting fouls to give Amherst 6 easy points along with a jumper and a contested lay-up at the buzzer. Entering halftime, Amherst now led 31-20.
Amherst continued where they left off with a three to start the quarter until McBarron finally ended the run by finishing on a drive. However, even with Williams playing with the intensity they wanted, the Amherst run continued with the key stat differential coming in both free throw and three-point shooting, 42-22. A spark of life for the Ephs came in the form of a
Kate Keenan banked three which was the first points in what would become a 12-2 Williams run. Gerig, who was cold throughout the first half, heated up and finished on a couple of drives along with a long two. Unfortunately, near the end of the quarter, Gerig picked up her fourth foul and was forced to sub out. In every quarter so far, Amherst closed strong and the third was no different. The Mammoths turned up in the end with two quick jumpers and built a comfortable 51-37 lead before the final quarter.
The fourth was a back-and-forth showcase which is not what you want as a team trying to get back into the game. Walton and
Kathleen Smith offered some valuable minutes for the Ephs with Smith finishing with 6 rebounds off the bench subbing for Gerig when she was in foul trouble. Time was running out and frustration set in for Williams as the defense loosened up on their usual intensity. The Ephs went scoreless for the majority of the quarter and while the game was fought to the end, Amherst won 63-49. This loss makes it twenty straight Williams losses at Amherst.
On the upsetting loss and struggling offense, head coach
Pat Manning said, "I thought we started great and played a really solid first quarter but after that, we did not follow through. Everything changed in the second quarter and we let our frustration with our shooting carry over to our defense. I thought
Kathleen Smith off the bench was big on the rebounds and that was an area we were good in. We were tentative with our shooting and Amherst took advantage of that… If we shot better, this game would have been an entirely different story. We made mistakes in our coverage and what we were attempting to do defensively. Our defense needs to be a constant regardless of how our offense is doing… We also got in foul trouble and this was a large setback for us. We will get back to work and learn and look to get better for our next game."
Williams will look to rally in their next game when they play Middlebury College on Saturday, January 25th at 3 pm in Vermont.
