Hartford, Conn. – Sophomore forward Lauren McCall (Natick, Mass.) scored a game-high 15 points to lead the visiting Williams College Ephs to a 71-53 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's basketball action this evening on Ogrodnik Court in Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity falls to 4-7 while the Ephs, ranked No. 15 in the nation, improve to 13-1 with their third win in a row.  The game was the NESCAC opener for both teams, as the Bantams host league rival Hamilton tomorrow at 3 p.m. and Williams visits No 3-ranked conference foe Amherst tomorrow afternoon.

Trinity recovered from a slow start, falling behind, 8-2, over the first 6:30, but scored seven points in a row to take a 9-8 lead with 11:33 left in the first half.  A put-back by Bantam senior forward Melanie Mills (Woodstock, Vt.) tied the contest for the final time at 13-13 with 7:54 on the clock, but Williams sophomore guard Devon Caveney (Andover, Mass.) nailed a three-pointer and added a lay-up to score five of the game's next seven points and give the Ephs a 20-13 lead at the 6:42 mark.  Trinity closed to 22-18 with 3:13 left before the break on a drive by rookie guard Aubree Udell (Chester, N.J.), but Williams used a 9-2 spurt to take a double-digit advantage into intermission at 30-20.

In the second stanza, Williams scored the first six points and extended its lead to as many as 23 points at 50-27 with 12:42 remaining on a lay-up by McCall.  Trinity fought its way back and pulled to within 11 points at 62-51 at the 5:19 mark on a drive by junior guard Alexa Menard (Wallingford, Conn.), but McCall answered with a trey and the Bantams could get no closer. 

Trinity made two of 12 tries from long range, while the Ephs connected on six of 10.   Williams shot 55.1 percent from the floor overall (27-49) to 40.4 percent for Trinity (19-47) on the same number of attempts, and the teams combined for 36 turnovers.  Trinity junior center Mackenzie Griffin (Stamford, Conn.) led all scorers with 20 points and added five rebounds and a blocked shot, while Mills contributed nine points, a game-high eight rebounds, three assists, and a block off the Bantam bench.  Williams senior guard Ellen Cook (Eugene, Oregon) totaled 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Caveney and senior forward Kellie MacDonald (Danvers, Mass.) scored 10 points apiece for the Ephs.