Ephs win Williams Holiday Classic in 65-49 defeat of Endicott
Chessie Jackson '11
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Senior captain Dominique de la Torre was named
the Most Valuable Player of the Williams Holiday Classic following
an impressive weekend of basketball by the Williams women's
basketball team. After overpowering Lasell in a 103-49 game
on Saturday, the Ephs (4-2) clinched the championship today with a
well-fought 65-49 defeat of Endicott College (3-2).
Junior captain Mika Peterman and rookie Taylor Shea were named to
the All-Tournament team. Peterman scored 17 points in both
games this weekend, while Shea tallied 21 points on Saturday and 12
points today. The freshman starter was just one rebound shy
of her first collegiate double-double with 9 boards. Nicole
Duchesne of Endicott, Caitlyn Laflin of University of
Maine-Farmington, and Carla Zinno rounded out the All-Tournament
team.
While Williams had no trouble finding an offensive rhythm against
Lasell yesterday and struggled defensively in the first half, the
Ephs opened play in a defensive fury but struggled early on the
offensive end today. Endicott did not get on the scoreboard
until 14:43 to go in the half, and did not tally a field goal until
six minutes into play.
Williams opened the game on a 6-0 run, and appeared to be in
control of the game building a thirteen point lead with 3:55 left
in the first period. The Ephs defense began to falter,
allowing the Gulls to fly back into the contest with a 11-4
run. The run was topped off by a three from Endicott's
leading scorer Duchesne, which narrowed the Ephs' lead to just
six. As an early comeback seemed imminent, Manning called a
timeout to regroup her team but Endicott continued to press and
found themselves within four points of the Ephs with the first half
coming to a close. Elizabeth Hansen nailed a clutch shot with
her toes on the three-point line to give Williams a 30-24 lead at
half.
"The last few minutes of the first half were a let down," said
Manning. "Endicott had some momentum going into the locker
room and our main goal was to defend on their dribble drive
penetration better heading into the second half."
The tone was set for the second half as Peterman drained a shot
from downtown to open play. The Ephs continued to attack on
offense, mounting a 17-6 run in the first five minutes of the
half. A lay in by de la Torre with 8:30 left in
regulation brought the score to 58-39, capping off the largest lead
of the night at nineteen.
Endicott was certainly not afraid to shoot the ball from outside
but failed to convert going 3-of-17 from behind the arc and
shooting 30.4 percent from the floor. The Gulls' Cecily
Chisholm grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, chipping in 8
points. Sara Doherty added 8 points as well, while Duchesne
tallied 13 points.
Manning was particularly proud of Taylor Shea who had the toughest
defensive assignment of the night, saying, ""Duchesne can score in
a lot of ways, and Shea came through for us on defense and offense
as well." Shea kept Duchesne to just 13 points, while the
Gull's forward averages 21 points a game.
Williams will face off against Keene State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
in Chandler Gymnasium.
UM-Farmington takes third place in Holiday Classic with a nailbiter win over Lasell, 67-66
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- With no time remaining in regulation,
University of Maine-Farmington's Caitlyn Laflin kept cool under
pressure and drained three free throws to come from behind and seal
a 67-66 victory over Lasell College (1-4) in the consolation game
of the Williams Holiday Classic. Down by two points with just
eight seconds left on the clock Laflin shot from downtown and was
fouled on the attempt just when the final buzzer sounded.
Laflin's clutch shooting from the charity stripe earned her
All-Tournament honors.
UM-Farmington (2-2) had the game in control at half, leading by a
score of 38-27. The team shot 43.3 percent from the floor,
and nailed five three point shots in the first period to build the
advantage. Lasell came storming back in the second half, and
improved their shooting percentage from 36.4 percent in the first
half to 55.2 percent in the second. Both teams found
themselves in a tight affair, and it would prove to stay that way
until the bitter end.
Laflin finished with a game-high 20 points, and 8 rebounds.
Erin Porter added 12 points and 7 rebounds for UM-Farmington, while
teammate Amanda Byrne contributed 11 points and 5 boards.
Lasell's Christina Luca led her team with 16 points, while Carla
Zinno and Tricia Culver chipped in 14 and 10 points respectively.
Zinno was named to the All-Tournament team. Shauna Kelly
added 11 points and dished out 6 assists.
