Williams Women Lose to Bowdoin
WILLIAMSTOWN - In what was their best overall effort of the season, Williams women's basketball (10-5, 0-1) fell just short in a heartbreaking 65-62 conference loss to Bowdoin College (10-4, 1-0) on Friday.Despite losing last season's Division III Player of the Year, Eileen Flaherty, to graduation, the Polar Bears certainly know how to win. They hit their shots when it really mattered, and those big plays were able to counteract a very solid performance by the Ephs who were looking to break their twelve game losing skid against their conference foes from up north.
"This was by far our best effort of the season," said Williams head coach Pat Manning. "Our goal is always to get better every single day, and today we raised our game to another level. We're always focusing on the process, and learning to compete at this level. This was a victory tonight even though the scoreboard does not show it."
The opening minutes of play certainly foreshadowed all that was to come. Williams looked strong on both the defensive and offensive ends, and Mika Peterman's sharp shooting helped propel the Ephs to an early advantage midway into the first frame. Ahead by two five minutes into regulation, Peterman unleashed from behind the arc. Two consecutive three-point shots, plus an impressive left hand hook in the paint by Jessica Harris, gave Williams a 14-8 lead at the 14:08 mark. Peterman's hot hand continued, and another shot from three-point range gave the Ephs what would be the largest lead by either team on the night at nine points, 24-15.
Bowdoin looked flustered on their offensive possessions, but a last-second prayer from Caitlin Hynes seemed to wake up the team. With the shot clock about to hit zero, Hynes threw up a shot three feet behind the arc hoping to at least nick the rim and avoid a shot-clock violation. The surprising three points brought Bowdoin within three points of the lead. Late in the half, the Polar Bears began to find holes in the Williams defense. Alexa Kaubris hit a wide open three to grab the lead, 26-24, with 5:40 left in the half. Bowdoin headed into the locker room ahead by two, 30-28.
Bowdoin shot a consistent 40 percent from the floor in both frames, but always seemed to be right on the money at the worst times for Williams. A few more wide open shots from Bowdoin allowed them to build a small five-point lead in the early going of the second period. After a Williams timeout, Peterman narrowed the lead with ease on their first offensive possession back on the floor.
A few minutes later the Eph guard struck gold again, and a Harris put back at the 11:15 mark saw Williams within one point of Bowdoin, 44-43. Taylor Shea capped off a 9-0 run with a hook shot in the lane. Now ahead 45-44, Williams would see their last lead of the game.
Bowdoin countered with a 16-5 run, and with five minutes to play Williams could have easily bowed out of contention. The Ephs did no such thing, and responded with a 7-1 run to bring themselves back within four points with 1:32 on the clock. Harris drove inside to get the home team within three of the lead with 43 seconds to play. Williams mounted another solid defensive effort on Bowdoin's next possession, but Jill Anelauskas maneuvered past the defense for a lay up with the shot clock winding down.
With 11 seconds in regulation, Peterman showed no signs of cooling off and drained a deep three-pointer in front of her bench to pull Williams within two, 64-62. The Ephs fouled on the inbounds play to put the Polar Bears on the line and into the bonus. Kaubris hit the first shot, but missed the second. The ball was deflected by a Bowdoin player and went out of bounds. Williams would have an opportunity to tie the game with a three-pointer.
Niki Savageau brought the ball up court with 8.8 seconds on the clock. Looking for either Peterman or Chessie Jackson to take the three, the point guard could not find an open passing lane. Savageau looked for a moment as if she might pull up and take the shot herself, but chose to do otherwise. Anelauskas intercepted the attempted pass to Peterman as time expired with the Polar Bears ahead, 65-62.
"We [Williams] challenged them," said Manning."They really went after it though, and hit the big shots when they had to. They just hit everything when they were open."
Peterman finished the night shooting 6-of-7 from three-point range to total 18 points. Chessie Jackson was quiet from her usual spot behind the arc, but had a solid game with 11 points. Harris recorded a double-double in the first half with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She ended the game with 17 points and 15 boards. Taylor Shea chipped in with 9 points.
Bowdoin counteracted a 47-31 deficit on the glass with a solid outing at the charity stripe. Shooting a decent 68 percent, the Polar Bears headed to the line 25 times and hit 17. Williams managed to get to the free throw line only nine times, and made only four. Four players scored in double figures for Bowdoin. Hynes tallied 15 points, while Anlauskas had 15 points and seven rebounds. Colleen Sweeney contributed 12 points and Maria Noucas added 11 points.
Williams will look to pick up their first conference victory tomorrow against Colby at 3 p.m. in Chandler Gym.
