West Massachusetts News

hereNESCAC Playoffs Preview: Ephs Vs. Bobcats

The NESCAC championship tournament will get underway this Saturday at 2PM with quarterfinal matchups. The #2 seeded Ephs will face off against the #7 Bates Bobcats at home in Chandler Gym in their second meeting of the season. Last time, Williams came out on top over Bates in Lewiston, ME, with a final score of 61-51. 

Looking Back

On their Jan. 28 game vs. the Bobcats, the Ephs took control in the third quarter. While the Bobcats captured the lead at the end of the first half with a last second putback, the Ephs came out of the locker room with fire, scoring 26 points after the break. 

The Ephs shot 63% in the third, and 50% from behind the arc. The Bobcats, on the other hand, despite their big second quarter, were kept to 33% shooting after the break. Bates' Meghan Graff, the NESCAC's second leading scorer, was kept to just 12 points in the game— 9 fewer than her 21.0 average on the season. 

The Bobcats gave the Ephs trouble at a few points, though. In the second quarter, the Bobcats outshot, outrebounded, and picked up more assists than the Ephs. They were especially punishing from three, nailing four of their eight attempts. 

Bates also showed a dangerous tenacity at the end of the game, going on a 7-0 run spearheaded by Meghan Graff, who attacked the paint and pulled up to score four in a row. Her effort spurred on the rest of the team, and the Bobcats' Sophie Spolter scored an and-one layup on Bates' next possession. Though the Ephs were able to stem the flow, it was largely because the Bobcats ran out of time, and were forced to foul. Williams shot 88% from the stripe in the last quarter to ice the game. 

Saturday's Game

Now, both teams are coming off a four game winning streak at the end of NESCAC play, and the Ephs are ready to play. 

"It's been a good week of practice," said Eph head coach Pat Manning, "and people are just ready. It's funny, because you go on this stretch where you're playing two games a weekend, and then since we just had Conn last week we had to wait all week for one game on Sunday. Now I feel like we have to wait all week for this game on Saturday, so we're just like: 'Get here already!' I think that's how everyone's feeling. We're excited to play, we feel like we're playing just very solid basketball— we just can't wait for Saturday."

Going into the game, it's important to note that both teams have recently picked up wins against #3 seeded Trinity, who before February were 19-2 on the season and had featured in national power rankings for several weeks. 

While Williams topped Trinity by just 1 point, Bates came out on top by 8— especially impressive considering a 31 point performance from Trinity's Reilly Campbell. In the teams' rematch, Williams will have to contend with a newly invigorated Bates, who averaged the second highest ppg in the NESCAC, at 65.8. 

Coach Manning gave a nod to the Bobcats' performance recently, saying "we feel like we've been playing really well lately, but so has Bates. I think this year in the conference there's so much parity, and so many good teams." 

The Ephs are up to the challenge, though, and Manning said that the team will approach Saturday's match "the same way we've been approaching every game. Our defense has to lead the way. That's been our main focus this week… everyone just has to do their job defensively. They have five kids on the floor that can all contribute and can all score— they're a good rebounding team, and they have a balanced inside-outside game. So, it's going to be just sticking to our game plan and really everyone that touches the court for us just locking down."

The #2 seed was a welcome development for the Ephs— but the focus is now moving forward. "I think our goal going into the season is always to host the first round," said Manning, "because every game is challenging in NESCAC, so we want to play at home. But now, we want to move on, as do all the other seven teams too. We're so happy with the growth of this team, but that's the next step— we have to show it in the postseason. Bates is the defending NESCAC champion, they played in the NCAA tournament last year, and so we're looking to get to the next level and show that we can compete with anybody."

On a final note, Manning mentioned the game's special importance for the team's four seniors. "It's always fun to play at Chandler, and we know that this could be our last game at Chandler. [Our players are] going to be giving their all, as they have every game. We want to do it for the team, but there's a little extra when you want to do it for the seniors." 

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