Ephs win big on Senior Day; defeat 14th ranked Tufts, 63-46
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – In what was a physical battle from the opening whistle, the Williams women's basketball team (16-6, 5-2) used their best defensive effort of the season to knock off the fourteenth-ranked Tufts Jumbos (19-2, 5-2), 63-46.
The Ephs kept the visiting Jumbos to a mere 22.5 shooting
percentage from the floor in the first frame, and limited Tufts to
just five points in the first ten minutes on the court.
An excited Ephs squad used some much needed emotion and adrenaline
following a disappointing loss to Bates last night. Honoring
the team's three seniors- Dominique de la Torre, Niki Savageau, and
Whitney Livermore- prior to the game, Williams came onto the court
playing to send their leaders out with a victory.
A visibly impressed head coach, Pat Manning, commented, "This was
an unbelievable defensive effort. We [Williams] felt that
last night's effort was so inconsistent, and felt like we had been
raising our game to a new level but just did not continue
it… Today I am so proud of our play."
With two players just one point shy of having all starters in
double-digits, a balanced offensive front coupled with stifling
defensive pressure was the recipe for success from the
get-go. The Ephs opened play on a 7-0 run, and kept Tufts
scoreless for the first 5:40.
Williams only shot 33.3% from the floor in the first period so
despite their impressive defense, the Ephs could not mount a
sizeable lead. The Jumbos narrowed the score to 12-9 with
6:34 to play before Williams pulled ahead by seven at the half,
22-15, off a pull jumper by Mika Peterman with two seconds on the
clock.
The home team did not let up on their defensive intensity, and
continued to build their lead. Two wide open three-point
shots from Chessie Jackson expanded Williams' advantage to fourteen
points at the half way point of the second half. Tufts
committed their seventh foul with 7:36 to play, sending the Ephs
into the bonus. Williams finished the game with a 15-of-20
effort from the charity stripe.
Williams notched a 20 point lead off a transition play.
Peterman stole the ball before launching a deep pass to Niki
Savageau. Savageau dished the ball to Shea on a bounce bass
who easily layed the ball in for a 51-31 lead. Tufts would
come within fourteen at one point, but Williams' play proved
insurmountable.
The Ephs starters combined for 63 of their 66 total points.
Taylor Shea recorded her third straight double-double with 16
points and 10 boards. Jackson contributed 15 points, while
Peterman added 11 points and 5 boards. Savageau and de la
Torre tallied 9 points on their Senior Day, with de la Torre
grabbing team-high 11 boards.
Khalilah Ummah led Tufts with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Colleen Hart and Kim Moynihan followed Ummah with 10 and 8 points
respectively.
Williams will play their final two regular season games at
Connecticut College and Wesleyan next weekend. Game time
against the Camels is set for 7:00 p.m on Friday.
