Williams’ Offensive Strength Secures The Win Against Wesleyan, 72-54
Scoring 14 points off turnovers and 32 points in the lane, Williams (6-4, 0-0, NESCAC) kept the pressure on all game to defeat Little Three foe Wesleyan (4-6, 0-0, NESCAC), 72-54.
Williams started the second quarter up eight, after pushing the pace and capitalizing on the Cardinals' turnovers. It looked as if the Ephs were firmly in control of the game, slowing things down and responding to every Wesleyan bucket with scoring of their own as the quarter got underway.
However, Wesleyan wouldn't go down without a fight, and Olivia Quinn provided the spark off the bench, sinking a three-pointer to start a 7-0 Wesleyan run. Facing a two point deficit and with momentum on their side, the Cardinals pushed forward, but the Williams defense held strong, stopping the run and stifling Wesleyan's next three shots.
To widen the Ephs' lead, threes were crucial, as 3-pointers from Devin Biesbrock, Ryann Taylor, and Mia Holtze pulled the lead to eleven. Holtze's three came at the buzzer, as she rose up over her defender to bury the shot, ending the first half 33-22.
The game had started more evenly, as both teams scored 7 in the first four minutes of play. The lead went back and forth, but as the quarter wrapped up, hustle made the difference. Williams pulled down five offensive boards to Wesleyan's one, and scored ten points off the Cardinals' eight turnovers.
In the third quarter, ball movement and paint penetration led to a 16-5 run that forced a Wesleyan timeout. After the rest, the Cardinals regrouped and went on a 6-0 run, but Maddy Mandyck got the Ephs back in it with back-to-back left handed layups.
With a comfortable nineteen point lead going into the final period, Williams slowed things down, getting more players involved as they kept even with the Cardinals. The game ended 72-54 after Wesleyan put up 16 points on 58% shooting in the fourth while Williams tallied 15 points shooting 55%.
Following the game, head coach Pat Manning said "It was just a very great team win. Defensively we followed the game plan. I thought Devin did a really good job running the show and keeping us organized, and then Maddy and Arianna both got us going."
Rebounding from across the squad played a big role in the win, something that Coach Manning drove home following the game: "We really emphasized rebounds. I wanted to point out that Mia got 11, and we had Cortland come off the bench and get 5, Priscilla got 6, and Maddy was one short of a double-double. That was a goal of ours, to do a better job on the boards, because that's really been our Achilles' heel." The Ephs pulled down 38 boards to the Cardinals' 30.
Scoring also came easier today, and Manning shared her thoughts on the changes that went into the offensive improvements. "We were just smarter with the ball. Our cuts were better. We moved the ball better. I think our offense has been kind of stagnant [recently], and we were settling for shots that were just outside the flow of our offense. Today we just executed much better. We were able to really push the pace and get some transition scores."
The Ephs will play their next game ten days from now, as they head to Daytona Beach for the Daytona Beach Shootout. The team will face Hood College on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 10AM, and Southern Virginia University on Wednesday Dec. 21, at 3PM.
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