Ephs dominate Gordon College in Winter Classic, 85-35
Jessica Harris '11
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Williams women's basketball (8-3) amassed a thirty-six point first half lead to propel past visiting Gordon College (1-8) in first round action of the Williams Winter Classic, 85-35.
All eleven dressed players contributed significant minutes on
the court, while Elizabeth Hansen and Maddie King provided an
offensive spark by scoring double digits coming off the
bench. Starters Mika Peterman and Taylor Shea rounded out the
four players who led the Ephs with a ten point plus effort on the
night.
The Ephs established dominance early and cruised to a 14-0 lead
within the first five minutes of play. Gordon's head coach
called a timeout in attempt to regroup the squad, and the Fighting
Scots managed to score their first field goal at the 15:39
mark. Williams' defense proved impenetrable for the
opposition, and kept Gordon to just seventeen points in the first
half and twenty three percent shooting from the floor.
"This game was really focused towards defense for us, " said
Williams head coach Pat Manning. "We have trouble putting out
a consistent defensive effort and that was our main area of
emphasis today. Our goal was solid defense for forty minutes
and we achieved that tonight."
Williams' offensive effort was not too shabby either. Gordon
opened play in a 2-3 zone, later changed to a box and one defense,
and even threw a full court press on the table. The Ephs
handled every defensive strategy with ease, and shot a quality 49.3
percent from the floor and 53.3 percent from behind the arc.
The box and one defense proved quite ineffective for Gordon, and
Maddie King showed them why. King came off the bench to
rattle off a quick 8 points in the first half, and the Eph rookie
was on fire when shooting baseline jumpers. King finished the
game with a team high, and career high, sixteen points. The
Eph guard, along with Elizabeth Hansen who is always a reliable
player at point and shooting from downtown, helped seal the Ephs
win early on.
Leading 53-17 at the half, nothing changed in the second
half. Williams continued to protect their large lead, and
finished the game with a fifty-point margin of victory. Ten
of eleven players got on the scoreboard, and the win proved to be
another all around team effort for the Ephs. These wins will
be important confidence boosters before heading into tough
conference play within the next week of January.
Mika Peterman contributed 15 points, while Chessie Jackson chipped
in 8 points. Jessica Harris has been unstoppable on the
boards, grabbing 9 rebounds and adding 8 points as well.
Hansen and Taylor Shea tallied 10 points each, while King dominated
with 16 points.
Rebecca Carroll led the way for the Fighting Scots with 9 points
and 7 rebounds. Teammate Erin Thames chipped in 8 point sand
8 boards, while Kimberly Levinsky also added 8 points to Gordon's
effort.
Williams will face off against Babson College in the championship
game of the Williams Winter Classic at 3:00 p.m. in Chandler
Gymnasium. Babson defeated Drew University today by a score
of 68-53 to advance to the championship match up, while Drew and
Gordon will face off in the consolation game at 1:00 p.m.
tomorrow.
Babson defeats Drew, 68-53, in Winter Classic; will face Williams in championship game
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Lackluster offense marked the first half of
today's contest between Babson College (3-6) and Drew University
(2-6), but the Beavers erupted for 47 points in the second period
to win a place in the championship game of the Williams Winter
Classic. Nicole McManus led the Babson effort with a
double-double, scoring 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Allison Hartnett led Drew's offensive effort, scoring a game-high
18 points.
The game started off very slow for both teams, and there was five
or six minute period in which neither team found the basket.
Drew did not even reach double digits until the last five minutes
of the first half. The lethargic offenses can be credited to
poor shooting percentages, as Drew and Babson shot a very poor 25
and 27.9 percent from the floor.
Babson managed to create a fourteen point lead, ahead 21-7 with
4:39 to play but saw it slip away as Drew rallied from behind with
an 8-0 run and came within two points, 21-19, at the break.
The game appeared like it might be a close match to the finish, but
Babson began to mount a lead again. With only 8 players
dressed, fatigue may have been a factor for Drew. The Beavers
had a nineteen point lead at the 6:15 mark. Drew crawled
within ten points, but Babson remained under control for the 68-53
win.
Babson will face Williams tomorrow at 3 p.m. in the championship
game of the Winter Classic, while Gordon and Drew will play each
other in the consolation game at 1 p.m. Gordon fell to
Williams tonight, 85-35.
