Williamstown, Mass - Senior tri-captain Peace Kabari (Manchester, N.H.) scored 27 points with seven rebounds and five steals but the visiting Trinity College Bantams fell short in a 65-56 loss to the Williams College Ephs in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Women's Basketball Quarterfinals this afternoon at Chandler Gymnasium. The Bantams end the season at 16-9, while the Ephs, now 18-7 look forward to facing top-ranked Tufts next Saturday in the NESCAC Semifinals.
Trinity struggled offensively early, making just one field goal in the first five minutes and finishing the first quarter 2-for-13 from the field. Williams built early leads of 6-2 and 13-6, before Trinity sophomore guard Bailey Hyland (Broad Brook, Conn.) made a pair of free throws to make it, 13-8, with 1:26 left in the opening stanza. A late offensive surge in the final two minutes of the quarter, including a three from Eph junior Maggie Meehan (Southington, Conn.) inside the final minute saw Trinity end the quarter down 18-8.
Trinity scored the first five points of the second quarter on a trey by Kabari and a lefty layup by rookie Bria Fuller (Springdale, Md.) but Williams senior Emily Chang (Newton, Mass.) drilled a three-pointer to put the home team back ahead by double digits at 25-15 at the six-minute mark. Kabari nailed her third three-pointer of the first half for the final points of the first half that made the score, 33-26, in Williams' favor at the break. Kabari, who was alp 5-for-6 from the foul line in the first half, led all scorers at halftime with 16 points.
In the third quarter, Williams maintained a comfortable cushion despite an intense effort by the Bantams. Kabari scored twice on steals and fast-break layups, while sophomore center Elizabeth Althoff (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a spinning left-handed layup fo three of Trinity's four baskets in the period. Hyland also had four points in the third frame, including a free throw at the 2:20 mark that cut the Eph lead to six at 43-37. Williams junior Gabby Martin (Madison, Conn.) answered with a three-pointer, and the quarter ended with the Ephs holding a 48-37 advantage.
Trinity was unable to get any closer until a 15-4 late run pulled them within seven at 63-56 on a traditional three-point play by Kabari with 1:55 on the clock. Kabari came up with a steal on the next Eph possession but missed the layup and another Trinity miss was followed by a layup by Williams' Katie Brule that turned out to be the final points of the game. Fuller and Hyland joined Kabari in double figures in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Althoff grabbed seven rebounds and sophomore forward Katie Kirsch (Pelham, N.H.) had six boards. For Williams, Brule ended with 17-points and five rebounds, while Maddy Mandyck gathered a game-high 13 rebounds on top of 12 points.