Baecher, Danny Rainer and the rest of the seniors on the Williams College women's basketball team have waited a long time for this moment – and when it arrived, they took full advantage.
Baecher scored 22 points, Rainer added 18 more, and Williams moved into the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball playoffs with a 68-60 victory over the University of Rochester at the Louis Alexander Palestra on Saturday afternoon.
They combined for 18 rebounds, six blocked shots, and five assists to lead an inspired effort at both ends of the floor from the Ephs. Williams is 24-5 and will play the winner between Ithaca College and Smith College next weekend at a site to be determined.
Jennie Harding had nine points, six rebounds, and two steals. Between them, the three seniors played 119 of 120 possible minutes. Baecher and Harding never came out.
Rochester was led by Danielle McNabb with 14 points and nine rebounds. Ally Zywicki had eight points, five rebounds, and six assists for the Yellowjackets. Rochester finished 20-7.
"We played better defensively in the second half in the paint and rebounding," said Williams coach Pat Manning. "Rochester is big and strong inside. They're a great team. They came after us."
The Williams class of 2013 has fond memories of the Palestra. As freshmen, they earned their first collegiate victory with a win in the third place game of Rochester's tournament. In their sophomore year, they were upended in the first round of the NCAAs at the Palestra by Muhlenberg on a three-pointer as time expired. They defeated Scranton, 79-59, on Friday night in the first round of the NCAAs to move into the game against Rochester. It was a point of emphasis by the senior class.
"That was a motivating factor," Baecher said, "knowing our next game could be our last. We knew if we won we could possible host the Sweet 16. We used that as motivation. It was great."
Baecher had 13 points by halftime, including three three-point goals. Rochester led, 30-28, behind nine points from McNabb and five others getting three points or more. The Yellowjackets did break out to a seven-point lead early (15-8 with 6:37 elapsed) but Williams regrouped. Baecher's trey on the break put the Ephs up, 26-23. Zywicki's three-pointer tied it at 26-26. Rainer knocked down two free throws for a 28-27 Williams lead in the last two minutes, but Rochester's Paige Aleski sank a three to give Rochester its 30-28 halftime lead.
Williams turned up the defense in the second half. Rochester started 0-15 from the floor before Kristyn Wright sank a three-pointer to narrow the Williams lead to 38-34. Rochester got within two points twice. Another trey from Baecher gave the Ephs a nine point lead (54-45 with 6:48 left) before Rochester cut it down to three two more times, the last on a jumper by Zywicki to end a fast break. It was 58-55 Williams with 1:42 left. Rainer made a layup and the Ephs hit eight of eight from the line in the last 29 seconds. Six of those came from Harding.
"Baecher was a big difference," said Rochester coach Jim Scheible. "Not only her scoring, but she blocked shots. She negated our inside game. You can't go 0-15 in an NCAA game at this level and win."