BABSON PARK, MA—Opening-day rust abounded in Staake Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, as the Williams and Rhode Island College women's basketball teams combined for just 17 points in the game's first eight minutes. Evenutally, though, the Ephs hit their stride, as they scored the first eight and final seven points of the second half en route to a 59-47 victory in their first game of the Babson Tip-Off Classic.

Leading the way for the Ephs was Katie Litman, who shot 5-of-8 from the field and notched a double-double by pulling down 13 rebounds to go with her 11 points. Overall, though, the game's scoreline matched its gritty nature, as the two teams managed almost identical shooting percentages, with the Ephs (35.6%) holding only a slight edge over the Anchorwomen (34.0%). I give Rhode Island a lot of credit," said Williams coach Pat Manning. "They're very quick and they came after us. Our shooting percentage is probably a reflection of their defense."

In a strange statistical coincidence, the Ephs and Anchorwomen took exactly as many shots as they scored points (59-47), a disparity that helped Williams keep pace with Rhode Island during a first half in which they shot just 25%. "We missed shots we would normally make," said Manning, who repeatedly stressed that she was pleased with her team's shot selection. "Offense typically is not going to be great in November. That's just how it is every year."

For all their shooting woes on Saturday, the Ephs got hot at exactly right moment in the second half. After the Anchorwomen took their first lead in nearly 20 minutes with time winding down in the second half, the Ephs responded by draining six of their next seven shots to earn a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The X-factor of the Eph rally was Jane Thompson, who came off the bench with under seven minutes left to play and promptly made jump shots on three straight Eph possessions, the last a three-pointer from the corner to push Williams' lead back out to seven. Thompson also assisted on the Ephs' next two baskets; the latter of these, a three-pointer from Ellen Cook, capped off a long stretch of perimeter possession for the Ephs and gave them their first double-digit lead of the day and all but sealed the victory. "Jane and Lauren [McCall] were key off the bench," said Manning.

In a portentous beginning, Ephs won the opening tip but lost the ball before they had even completed a single pass; the Anchorwomen, in turn, failed to score on the ensuing possession. So it went for much of the first half, as the Ephs in particular were stymied on seemingly every trip up the court: an errant blind pass here, a missed putback there. Meanwhile, the Anchorwomen slowly stretched their lead out to seven points.

But a simple layup from Kellie Macdonald and an unorthodox left-handed shot from MaryKate O'Brien snapped the Ephs out of their funk just before the period's halfway point. Those baskets helped spark a 15-3 run for the Ephs that chewed up over seven minutes of the clock and was punctuated by a pair of three-pointers from sophomore McCall, who led all first-half scorers with nine points off the bench.

The Ephs began the second half intent on erasing their mistakes in the first, which ended with the teams tied 26-26, and quickly reeled off eight straight points to take their largest lead of the day. Yet just when the Ephs appeared poised to pull away, the Anchorwomen responded with a run of their own, as Jess Korzec cut the Williams lead to 1 by scoring off a fast break, then put Rhode Island ahead with a jumper that made it 41-40. But the lead was short-lived, as the Ephs tied went right back in front on a three-pointer by Amanni Fernandez that launched the Ephs into their decisive run.

The Ephs conclude their tournament tomorrow afternoon with an afternoon tilt against Vassar, which eliminated the Ephs in the first round of the NCAA tournament this past spring. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.