WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Williams College women's basketball team kept up its winning ways tonight in Chandler Gym, defeating visiting Colby College 73-54 behind what head coach Pat Manning called "totally unselfish basketball." The win was the eighth in a row for the Ephwomen, who move to 3-0 in NESCAC and 12-4 overall with the win, while the White Mules suffered their first conference loss in falling to 2-1 in NESCAC and 7-9 overall. Williams took a 33-21 lead into halftime and, though outrebounded 40-31 by Colby, the Ephs forced 23 turnovers while giving up the ball just 10 times itself.

The Ephs rushed out to a nine-point lead with just over five minutes elapsed in the first half on a layup by first-year Amy Dieckmann. The White Mules cut the lead to just three at the 9:14 mark on a Kate Lawson jumper, but just 20 seconds later, Lawson committed a personal foul and was subsequently whistled for a technical. After Kate Stumpo converted the two free throws for the Ephs, Williams used five more points by Dieckmann and a three-pointer by Bridget McDonough to take the 12-point halftime lead. On the first half effort, Manning said, "I was very pleased with the defense in the first half, as we forced 17 turnovers, but I was not happy that we got outrebounded." The White Mules held the first half edge on the boards 28-15.

Stumpo flew out of the gate to open the second half and continued her strong play throughout the period. She opened scoring with a three-pointer and then hit a layup. Williams led by as many as 25 with 12 minutes left. Colby made a run behind the strong inside play of Sarah Walsh, whose layup at the 4:29 mark cut the Eph lead to 13. However, Walsh later fouled out, and the Ephs held on for the comfortable win. The Ephs shot 41 percent from the floor, while the White Mules finished at 37 percent.

Stumpo paced all scorers with 18, sinking six of seven free throw attempts, and also chipped in seven assists. Manning lauded her play, saying that "she's been playing great the last few games. She's really leading us now."

Dieckmann contributed a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Abi Jackson added 14 points and McDonough 12. Walsh led the way for Colby, scoring 14 and pulling down 10 boards. Bianca Belcher also had 10 points and four assists in the losing effort.