Williamstown, Mass. - November 23, 2021 - The Springfield College women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to earn a 64-59 win at Williams on Tuesday night in Chandler Gymnasium.

This marks the second-consecutive trip to Williams that Springfield has come away with a victory, as they were last in the Berkshires in 2018 and delivered a 63-50 win for their first victory over the Ephs since 2008.  Springfield, which was receiving votes in the latest WBCA Division III National Coaches Poll, is now 7-0, matching the best start for the program since 1998.  The Ephs have now dropped three in a row to slip to 2-4. 

Rachel Vinton (Rutland, Mass.) put together a special performance as she poured in 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with seven boards and three assists, while Sam Hourihan (Bridgewater, Mass.) recorded another double double for the Pride with 18 points and 12 boards.  Sidney Wentland (Elk River, Minn.) pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass and Grace Dzindolet (Holliston, Mass.) chipped in 16 points and eight caroms.  Springfield finished the game with a 53-41 edge on the boards and outscored the Ephs in the paint, 28-16. 

For Williams, Maggie Meehan had a team-best 15 points, while Arianna Gerig chipped in 14 points and 11 boards.  Maddy Mandyck hauled in a team-best 13 boards for the Ephs, who were limited to a 21-for-66 (31.8%) shooting performance. 

The Ephs opened up an 8-6 advantage on an inside bucket from Gerig at the 4:58 mark of the opening quarter, only to have the Pride close out the stanza on an 8-1 push, as Vinton capped off the stretch with a free throw to give the Pride a 14-9 lead after 10 minutes of play.  Both teams struggled to find a rhythm early, as they combined to go 7-for-34 in the first quarter.

Williams opened up the second quarter on a 9-0 burst, with Mandyck converting inside at 5:43 as the hosts regained an 18-14 edge. Springfield would go back on top as Dzindolet finished inside with 2:56 on the clock to make it 21-20, but Williams would answer with a 6-2 surge as a layup from Gerig with 35 seconds remaining allowed the Ephs advantage to grow to 26-23.  Stephanie Lyons (Boston, Mass.) would power her way to the bucket for a score in the final seconds to make it a 26-25 contest heading into the halftime break. 

After scoring 25 points through the first two quarters, Springfield poured in 24 points in the third quarter to seize a 49-45 lead heading into the fourth. Buckets in the paint from Vinton and Wentland allowed Springfield to jump out to a 29-26 lead.  Trailing 37-36, a pair of Dzindolet trifectas sandwiched a tough three-point play by Vinton as the Pride's lead grew to 45-39 with just over two minutes to play. 

Just under two minutes into the fourth, Devin Biesbrock buried a triple for the hosts as Springfield called for a timeout trailing 50-49.  Out of the break, Springfield rattled off an 8-3 burst, with Hourihan netting seven points, including a turnover elbow jumper at 5:36 that put the Pride on top, 58-52. A three-point play from Gerig made it a 61-59 ballgame with just under four minutes to play before both teams went cold and neither scored in a two-minute stretch.  However, Vinton grabbed a critical offensive rebound and finished inside while being fouled to make it a 63-59 contest with 1:47 on the clock.  From there, the Pride would come up with a couple key defensive stops to hold on for the 64-59 triumph. 

Springfield will now enjoy its Thanksgiving break before it returns to competition on Thursday, December 2 at Westfield State for a 7 pm contest.

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