WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—There was a moment in the second half of Williams women's basketball's painless 81-43 win over Castleton when it became clear that the Ephs were just having One Of Those Nights.

With time winding down on the shot clock, Devon Caveney made a move from beyond the arc towards the back—and collided with teammate Lauren McCall. The ball squirted free; quickly, Ellen Cook scooped it up and heaved a desperation try towards the basket. Off the backboard and in. "One of those nights," confirmed Williams coach Pat Manning, who described the play using one of her favorite expressions: "That was crazy."

The No. 17 Ephs (13-2, 1-1 NESCAC) did not just win tonight: they won with style, shooting 57.7% from the field—their highest field goal percentage in a game since at least 2003, the earliest year for which reliable records are available. They also made 11-of-18 three-pointers, and their winning margin of 38 was their largest of the season.

All in all, it was impressive rebound effort following the Ephs' forgettable 26-point loss at Amherst on Saturday. "We haven't had a game like this since our game against Smith," said Manning, referring to the team's November 86-point outburst in Northampton. "We just needed to play free and feel good again about how we were playing [after Saturday]. This just meant everything."

Much of that was due to Lauren McCall, who tied a career high with 25 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Ellen Cook (15 points), Kellie Macdonald (12) and freshman Lydia Zaleski (a career-high 10) also scored in double figures for the Ephs.

Jade Desroches scored 22 points to pace the Spartans (9-3, 5-0 NAC). Desroches scored all but four of her points in the first half, when she made seven of her team's eight baskets in the half and floated in long three-pointers from here, there and everywhere around the arc. "She's a great player," said Manning of Desroches. "She's tough to stop, because she can hurt you in so many ways."

Both teams had trouble scoring early. They combined to miss nine shots before Devon Caveney knocked down the first of her three first-half three pointers after (appropriately) three minutes had elapsed. That seemed to wake the Spartans up a little bit, as well; soon, they had a 6-5 lead to their credit.

It didn't last long. Following a 30-second timeout that Manning called during a possession scrum, the Ephs began to run the floor like mad and reeled off a 16-0 run. There went Amanni Fernandez dishing a no-look pass to McCall for a layup in transition; there was McCall faking a shot and quickly dishing down low to Kristin Fechtelkotter for an easy bucket soon after. Though Desroches' hot shooting kept the Spartans within shouting distance, they still trailed 34-20 at halftime.

The Ephs drained the game of suspense in the opening minutes of the second half, reeling off a 21-4 run to open the period that included Cook's throw-up-a-prayer basket and put them up by 31. This made the game's final 13 minutes a largely academic affair. Still, both squads kept playing hard: Makayla Ferrara went 3-3 on short-range shots for the Spartans, while Zaleski led the Eph first-years (minus starter Amanni Fernandez) to 14 points in the half. "Lydia works so hard in practice," said Manning. "I'm so happy for her, that she had a chance to be in there. And she made a difference."

This was the last non-conference game for both teams. Castleton returns home to face Johnson St. on Thursday, while the Ephs will take on No. 25 Bowdoin in Chandler Gym on Friday at 7pm.