Senior Co-captain scores eight points in final 2:59 to seal thrilling 53-50 win
Feldman's Heroics Lift Amherst Women over
Williams
Senior Co-captain scores eight points
in final 2:59 to seal thrilling 53-50 win
AMHERST, Mass. - Senior Amherst Co-captain
Liza Feldman (Sudbury, MA) scored all eight of her points
in the final 2:59 of Saturday's Little III thriller, accounting
for Amherst's last eight points as the Jeffs held off their arch-rivals,
53-50, for their first win over Williams in two years before a
capacity LeFrak Gymnasium crowd of over 1,400.
Feldman's heroics capped a game full of them,
as Eph senior Co-captain Rebecca Brooks (Simsbury, CT)
kept the visitors in the game almost single-handedly at times,
posting 10 points in each half, including her 1,000th and 1,001st
points of her career which tied the game at 45 with 3:47 remaining.
For the Jeffs, who opened up a 13-point first-half lead thanks
to a 21-2 run which put them up 27-14, senior Co-captain Naomi
Sullivan (Hudson, MA) and freshman forward Sarah Walker
(West Hartford, CT) did most of the damage, combining to score
18 of the Jeffs' 27 first-half points.
But stingy defense kept the Ephs in the game,
as the visitors held Amherst scoreless over the final 6:37 of
the first half, closing to within three at halftime thanks to
a 10-0 run. First-year Kate Stumpo (Walpole, MA) fueled
the run with a pair of threes, and the Eph deficit was only three
at the break.
The second half saw much of the same back-and-forth
action, as the Jeffs went on a 9-0 run to take a 41-33 lead before
the Ephs fought back, scoring eight straight points to tie the
game at 45 inside the four minute mark.
But Feldman, who came off the bench for the
first time all year in the game, re-energized
the hosts with a running jumper and a pair of free throws. The senior, who sprained
her ankle Tuesday against Smith College and did not play against Babson, came
through in the clutch despite being limited to seven minutes for the game, and the
Ephs never tied the game again.
Stumpo's desperation
three at the buzzer fell
short, and the Jeffs had their first win over their arch-rivals
since the 1997-98 season.
Sullivan posted a team-high 17 points and a
game-high 11 rebounds for the Jeffs, capping a week which saw
her average 22 points in the Jeffs' three wins with her first double-double of the
season. Walker finished
with 10 points and also had a game-high 11 rebounds, her fourth double-double of
the year and her sixth double-digit rebound game, and Amherst
first-year Sally Hamill (Scituate, MA) finished with nine
points on three three-pointers, as the Jeffs connected for four
treys for the game. Junior forward Charlotte Taylor (Harvard,
MA) turned in another blue-collar effort, picking up seven
rebounds and three steals, while first-year Sara Bozorg (Amherst,
MA) played every second en route to a seven-point, five-assist
game.
For Williams, Brooks finished with a game-high
20 points, while Stumpo was the only other Eph in double-figures,
with 10. Eph junior Liz Tilley (Queens, NY) posted a game-high
seven assists, and added two steals to her five-point, five-rebound
performance.
The two teams combined for 53 turnovers in
a game that was very sloppy at times, as the Jeffs earned their
first win over their arch-rivals since their stunning 57-54 upset
in Williamstown two seasons ago. The senior class of Feldman and
Sullivan had never previously beaten the Ephs at home.
The Jeffs, who improve to 7-4 with their third
win of the week, are next in action on Tuesday night at Little
III foe Wesleyan University, while the Ephs return home to battle
Hamilton College. The two arch-rivals meet again in three weeks
on Friday, February 4, for a 5:30 p.m. tilt at Williams' Chandler
Gymnasium.
| Williams (6-4) |
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| Amherst (7-4) |
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Williams (50) Brooks 9-19 2-3 20, Stumpo 3-9 2-2 10, Tilley 2-8 1-2 5, Jackson 2-6 0-1 4, Goldman 1-5 1-2 3, Ford 1-2 0-0 2, Stephens 1-3 0-0 2, Daigneault 1-4 0-0 2, Skeffington 0-2 0-0 0, Basmagy 0-0 2-2 2, Griffin 0-0 0-0 0, Geant 0-0 0-0 0, Routh-Corker 0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 20-58 8-12 50
Amherst (53) Sullivan 7-15
3-5 17, Walker 4-6 2-4 10, Hamill 3-8 0-1 9, Feldman 1-1 6-8 8,
Bozorg 3-9 0-0 7, Taylor 1-7 0-0 2, Putnam 0-0 0-0 0, Coscarelli
0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 19-46 11-18 53
3-point goals - Williams 2-13 (Stumpo 2-5, Goldman 0-3, Tilley
0-2, Skeffington 0-2, Daigneault 0-1), Amherst 4-15 (Hamill 3-7,
Bozorg 1-4, Taylor 0-4). Fouled out - None. Rebounds
- Williams 34 (Stumpo 8), Amherst 37 (Walker, Sullivan 11).
Assists - Williams 17 (Tilley 7), Amherst 13 (Bozorg 5).
Total fouls - Williams 18, Amherst 14. Technicals -
None. Attendance - 1400.