WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. – Back at home in Chandler Gym, the Williams College Ephs (2-0, 0-0, NESCAC) beat the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners (2-2, 0-0, North Atlantic Conference) 77-50 on the first day of the Morin Memorial Tournament.
The last match-up between the Ephs and the Mariners was in 2005, when the Ephs overcame the Mariners 71-42. Williams defeated Maine Maritime again today with a consistent and strong overall showing. In the first quarter, the Ephs doubled the Mariners’ score 22-11 led by Izzy Sullivan‘s work on the 3-point line, where she knocked down 3 three’s on 3 back-to-back-to back scoring attempts. Defense from the Ephs kept the Mariners to a 27 FG% in the first quarter.
Ephs’ head coach Pat Manning recognized, “Maine Maritime is a really good 3-point shooting team. So, that was a strategy of ours, not to give up threes, and I was happy with our defense on that.” The Ephs were able to keep the Mariners to just 1 three-pointer made. Coach Manning also pointed out, “They are a very athletic team and they can run, so I was happy with our defense overall.”
The second quarter paced the teams evenly as the Mariners and the Ephs went back and forth on scoring. The Mariners capitalized in the paint outscoring the Ephs 22-8 by the end of the half. The Ephs came alive with the ball. Coach Manning celebrated, “I think we shared the ball well. Different people stepped up and for it being our second game, I was really happy with how we executed.” By the end of the half, Izzy Sullivan, Kate Keenan, and Arianna Gerig had all scored in the double digits.
Izzy Sullivan ended the day with 4 scored from beyond the arc and 14 points on the day. Kate Keenan drained 14 points with 8 assists, and Arianna Gerig had 17 points in the score book. As a team, the Ephs made 75% of their free throws and racked up 48 rebounds. The Mariners took control in the paint outscoring the Ephs 34-16, but the Ephs’ had a strong showing with 30 of their 77 points coming from shots made behind the arc. As the Ephs win their game today, they are onto the championship match tomorrow.
After the passing of Lou Morin, the tournament was named in celebration of him and his wife, Gladys. The couple are longtime fans of the Ephs and have supported both men’s and women’s basketball for over 20 years. Coach Manning gratefully said, “They would always reserve and put a blanket down on that one spot right behind our bench at the very top. And, they did that for 20+ years. And just incredibly supportive for both our team and the men’s team.” She went on to share a fun anecdote as well: We were on our way to Middlebury and they normally would give us oranges for half time, all cut up and ready. They didn’t get them to us in time. So, they came after the bus, I don’t even think we had cellphones. It was somehow, somebody got a hold of somebody and they met us at the Cozy Corner restaurant. They were just waving stop, we stopped, and they got us the oranges. They were just such loyal fans, so when Lou passed away, I just felt like they had made such an impact on both of our programs that we should do something to honor his memory and Gladys as well. So, we changed [the name] to the Morin Memorial.”
The Ephs next face the Rhode Island College Anchormen in the Championship game of the Morin Memorial Tournament on Sunday at 3pm in Chandler Gymnasium.
