Ephs even conference record, defeat Connecticut College, 91-81
Jessica Harris '11
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – Williams women’s basketball (7-11, 2-2) capped off a positive weekend of play with their second consecutive win, finishing off Connecticut College, 91-81, following last night’s victory over a solid Wesleyan squad. The back-to-back conference wins bring the Ephs out of an 0-2 hole in the NESCAC standings to a now even record.
“This was a big weekend for us,” said Williams head coach Pat Manning. “We moved the ball well, we had smart shots, and I was happy with that.”
Williams started off the game strong, mounting a 12-0 run in the opening 4:36 of play. The Camels called a timeout to regroup, and scored the next ten points to narrow the gap to 13-10 before forcing Williams to take a timeout themselves. The game remained close for most of the half, due in large part to slipshod passing and sloppy defense by the Ephs.
The home team never lost it all together, though, and was always able to compose themselves and maintain a lead of some sort. The closest the Camels came was with 4:50 on the clock in the first frame at 30-27, but Williams began to pull away in the final minutes before the break and led by ten, 45-35.
“I was thrilled overall, but we still gave up 81 points,” continued Manning. “We were in control most of the time, but Connecticut College is an explosive team. We came up with the key shots when we had to, but we need to be better on the boards, and show more consistency on defense.”
The Williams inconsistency on defense allowed for the Camels to slowly chip away at the ten-point lead, coming within four points of the lead at 7:35 to play, 70-66. Every time Connecticut College got close to the lead, the Ephs would pull away and bring the lead back up to around ten points.
Jill Greenberg hit a three to give the Ephs the largest lead of the half at twelve with 2:15 to play, forcing the Camels to begin fouling to slow the clock. The Ephs went 22-of-28 (78.6%) from the line, which made the difference, as all other categories were fairly even.
Jess Harris finished the night with another double-double, proving to be a monster on the boards with 20 rebounds and adding 16 points. Greenberg scored a game-high 26 points running the point for the Ephs. Chessie Jackson scored 19 and Taylor Shea contributed 10. Kelsey Ham came off the bench to add 11 points.
Jennifer Shinall led the Camels with 22 points. Emily Cummings followed with 16 points, while Amy Towne added 14 points.
Williams will take a break from conference play and will travel to Western Connecticut on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
