MIDDLETOWN, Conn.—Sweet home…Connecticut?
Riding a 33-point effort from co-captain Ellen Cook, the Williams women's basketball team completed a sweep of their three NESCAC games in Connecticut, including their second in 24 hours, by beating Wesleyan, 77-61. The victory—meaningless in the context of the conference playoff picture—was the Ephs' 12th straight over the Cardinals, and their fifth out of six overall.
In a very tangible way, the Eph offense started and ended with Cook in this Valetntine's Day matinee. Cook started off by making a pair of early threes on the wings to spring Williams to an early 8-2 lead. She then closed out the Cardinals in the final minutes by scoring the Ephs' final eight points with a devastating series of drives—including one that started from halfcourt—and long jumpers. "Ellen just sort of took over," said Williams coach Pat Manning.
The outburst was Cook's second 33-point game of the season and her career. She also scored that many in a game against UMass-Dartmouth on January 9. Once again, she ended the game within a basket of the program's single game scoring record of 36, set by Melissa Skeffington in February 2002. "I had no clue," said Manning. "But she was awesome."
Manning can hardly be faulted for not keeping track of her players' in-game totals. Though the Ephs were the superior shooting team on the day (47.0% to 27.3%) and never trailed, the Cardinals hung with Williams throughout the contest and drew to within six points with less than four-and-a-half-minutes to go. Eph defensive issues were the main culprit: the Cardinals converted 22 Eph fouls into 25 points from the free throw line, and pulled down a season-high 28 offensive boards. "We didn't do great on the boards," said Manning. "They killed us there."
But after the lead came down to six again, Amanni Fernandez helped to turn the Ephs around. On the ensuing Eph possession, she kept the ball herself and drove down the lane for a layup. Moments later, she found Katie Litman, who made a hook shot in the paint. The score was now 69-59, and the stage had been set for Cook to take over and punctuate what became a 14-0 run.
Other notable performances for the Ephs included those of Kristin Fechtelkotter, who came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points, and Devon Caveney, who scored 10 points. Caveney also attempted 10 shots, her highest attempt total in eight games. "She had been hesitating a little," said Manning of Caveney's recent performances. "She hit some really key shots. Devon is a great shooter."
The regular season now behind them, Ephs will face Connecticut College next Saturday in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs at Chandler Gym. The Ephs beat the Camels in New London last night, 78-69.