WILLIAMS HOLDS OFF TUFTS FOR 63-60 NESCAC VICTORY
COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Williams 63
Tufts 60
At Medford
Friday, January 21, 2005
MEDFORD – The Williams College women's basketball team improved to 3-0 in NESCAC with a tight 63-60 victory at Tufts University on Friday night at Cousens Gymnasium. The victory was the fifth in a row for Williams (14-2, 3-0 NESCAC), while the Jumbos (8-6, 0-3 NESCAC) lost their fifth straight.
Sophomore Maggie Miller (Wellesley, MA) had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Ephs. Two of her blocks came in the final seconds with Tufts trying to hit a three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Senior co-captain Kerri McMahon (Denville, NJ) added 12 points and 11 rebounds to the Eph-ort. Tufts senior co-captain Allison Love (Duxbury, MA) was the game-high scorer with 20 points, scoring on 9 of 15 shots (two threes).
The visiting Ephs led for the entire first half. They were up by 14 twice late in the half until Tufts finished furiously to close the margin to four, 33-29, at halftime. The Jumbos scored the last 10 points of the first half, five by Love. She had 11 points at the break for Tufts and Miller scored eight points for Williams.
In the second half, Williams managed to push its lead to nine points, 43-34, on a lay-up by junior guard Colleen Hession (Northampton, MA) at 16:29. Tufts spurted again, this time a 15-5 stretch that gave them their first lead of the game, 49-48, with 9:06 on the clock after two free throws by sophomore Taryn Miller-Stevens (Avon, CT). A three-pointer by sophomore Meghan Stetson (Oneonta, NY) at 6:39 gave the Ephs a 54-53 lead, and they maintained a slim advantage for the next four minutes.
The Jumbos tied the score at 59-59 on a lay-up by sophomore Laura Jasinski (Leverett, MA) with 2:05 left in regulation, setting up a tense final two minutes. McMahon put home two free throws at 1:46 for a 61-59 Williams advantage. After a Tufts miss, Miller was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free throws. She rebounded her own miss on the second shot, but Williams turned the ball over. Miller-Stevens hit a freebie at the other end to make the score 62-60 Williams with 44 seconds to go.
Williams sophomore Meghan O'Malley (Topsfield, MA) added a free throw for a 63-60 Williams edge with 26 seconds left in regulation. After a Tufts time-out, Miller blocked consecutive three-point attempts by the Jumbos. The second block was rebounded by Hession, but she stepped out of bounds giving the ball back to Tufts with four seconds left. Tufts sophomore Valerie Krah's (Mountain Lakes, NJ) desperation three-point attempt missed to end the game.
O'Malley was one of three Ephs to score in double digits with 11 points to go with six rebounds. Hession tallied nine points and three assists. The Jumbos shot just 4 for 20 from three-point land in the game. Krah had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the hosts. Miller-Stevens finished with eight points, four assists and three steals.
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