Box Score COLLEGE
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Williams 59, Tufts 57
At Williamstown, MA
Friday, January 15, 2009
Game
Statistics
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Colleen Hart was five for eight on
three-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points
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WILLIAMSTOWN -- With the game knotted at 57-57, Williams College
junior Chessie Jackson and first-year Claire Baecher teamed up for
a perfect give-and-go play on the final offensive possession of the
game to defeat the 11th ranked Tufts Jumbos in the NESCAC opener
for both squads on Friday night.
Baecher ended up in a trap in the corner, but using her 6'3"
frame, she managed to pass the ball to Jackson on the left wing.
Jackson found her teammate running along the baseline for a
back-door pass. Baacher finished with a reverse lay up with 0.7
seconds left on the clock for the winning basket. Williams (12-4,
1-0 NESCAC) halted Tufts' 12-game win streak, which had tied the
school record. The Jumbos fell to 12-2 overall and 0-1 in the
league.
In the first half, Williams' defensive intensity gave them an
edge. The Ephs opened the game with an 8-0 run while Tufts could
not buy a basket at the other end. The Jumbos scored their first
field goal after 7:13 had ticked off the clock. Senior
Julia Baily (Farmington, CT) shot a successful
jumper from the right elbow to bring the scored to 12-6.
Williams continued to thwart Tufts' offense as the first half
progressed. The Ephs led by as many 16 points at 27-11 with 6:00 on
the clock, but the Jumbos narrowed the margin to 13 points at the
break and headed to the locker room down 31-18 to the home team.
The Ephs kept Tufts to just five field goals in the first half, as
the Jumbos shot 17.9 percent from the floor. Williams was dominant
on the glass in the opening 20 minutes as well, out-rebounding the
opposition 26-17.
Tufts came out of the break a different team, and charged back
into contention almost immediately. Junior Colleen Hart
(Needham, MA) began to get hot from behind the arc for the
Jumbos, and she nailed a three to bring her squad within four
points of the lead at 40-36 with 13:42 to play. Hart would drain
another three-pointer to get within three points just two minutes
later. The all-time leader in threes at Tufts would finish the
night shooting five of eight from three-point range.
The Jumbos continued to inch their way closer. Junior
Lindsay Weiner (Rockville, MD) scored a runner in
the lane, bringing the tally to 44-43 at the mid-way point of the
second period. Hart scored a three-pointer at the top of the key to
tie the game at 46 apiece with 7:30 left in regulation. Tufts
managed to tie the game, but never took the lead as the Ephs
continued to score in the critical moments.
The game became a back-and-forth contest for the next five
minutes. Ahead 52-50 with four minutes to play, Williams made a
defensive stop on Tufts' next possession that swung momentum back
in their favor. Jill Greenberg had a pull-up jumper for the Ephs to
bring the lead to four, while Chessie Jackson scored
with a strong post move on the Ephs' following offensive
possession to give Williams a six-point lead with 2:38 on the
clock.
Tufts called a time-out to regroup. The Jumbos forced a turnover
and scored to bring the score to 56-52, but committed a foul in the
paint to put the Ephs on
the line. Lisa Jaris made the back end of her free throws to give
the Ephs a 57-52 advantage with 1:28 to play. The Ephs forced a
shot clock violation by Tufts,
and looked to be headed for the win.
Williams struggled in the final minute at the line. Both
Greenberg and Jaris went to the charity stripe, but couldn't
connect on the front end of the one-and-ones. Tufts was fouled on
their next possession and was successful on both their free throws
to bring the score to 57-54. Hart nailed another three to tie the
game
once more at 57-57 as Williams turned the ball over.
Despite being shaky from the line and turning the ball over on
the previous possession, the Ephs collected themselves under
pressure in the final seconds as
Baecher scored to give the Ephs the win.
Hart finished the game with a game-high 20 points for the
Jumbos. Baily added 14 points, while sophomore guard
Tiffany Kornegay (Carver, MA) contributed nine
points and seven boards.
Jackson led all Ephs scorers with 16 points and had six
rebounds. Jaris scored 15 points and grabbed six boards, while
Greenberg was strong with 10 points. Baecher added eight points,
six boards, and two blocks.
The Jumbos will look to get back tomorrow at Middlebury, a game
that begins at 2:00 pm. Williams will look to build off this win
tomorrow against Bates. Game time is set for 2:00 pm in Chandler
Gymnasium.
Game release courtesy of Williams College.
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