By Braedan Shea
@Braedan_Shea
SPRINGFIELD – As Williams College’s Ellie Tounkara’s corner three pointer found nothing but net with seven seconds remaining, Springfield College women’s basketball head coach Naomi Graves frantically burned her final timeout.
She turned to her bench, initially with a look of disappointment. Tounkara’s three, coming off a beautifully executed sineline out-of-bounds play, ripped the lead from Springfield, who were now trailing 71-70. But Graves’ demeanor quickly changed to determination. Now with her own sideline out-of-bounds opportunity, she felt that she had the perfect play drawn up.
The set, titled ‘wheel,’ consists of junior guard Amanda Leary standing as the inbounder, with Claire Finney and Carrie Hess as decoys – Finney cutting to the corner and Hess to the backcourt – with the intention to set up senior Angie Czeremcha. Czeremcha flares to the ball, only to cut to the basket as point guard Kassidy Carrano sets a back screen. Carrano acts as the third distraction, to set up the unorthodox point-guard-on-center-screen, hoping to leave Czeremcha with nothing but the rim.
When the play initially began, Graves was seated, nervously gripping her clipboard. Two seconds of game clock later, she exploded off the bench with a fist in the air, looking more like a first-year coach than one in the early stages of her 34th. Her unconventional coaching worked perfectly, as the five-foot-five Carrano’s screen sent the Ephs six-foot-two Mairi Smith to the hardwood, with Czeremcha putting in the easy layup.
“I had that back screen for Angie, but I had to really set it up for her to get her open,” Carrano said. “When I set that screen, she was wide open and then had that easy bunny with her defender falling on the floor.”
A last second putback miss by Smith sent Williams home empty, falling at the hands of Springfield 72-71 in Blake Arena – the Pride’s first home win of the 2024-25 campaign.
Beyond setting game-winning screens, Carrano was key in the victory for Springfield. She led the offense with 18 points on an extremely efficient 6-8 from the field, including 4-6 from behind the arc.
The true highlight, however, was the play of backup guard Carrie Hess. Facing a tall Williams roster that had no player shorter than 5’10” on the floor at all times, Hess was a spark plug for the Pride when they needed her most. She poured in career highs in points (12), assists (5) and blocks (4), making it nearly impossible for Graves to take her out of the game.
“Carrie’s blossoming – she’s getting better and better every game,” Graves said. “I think she was the player of the game. She contained [Arianna Gerig], she’s the go-to on their team.”
Hess, along with Carrano, Leary and Stefany Padula, were pests for the Ephs all game. From flying around the court on defense, crashing the boards and diving for loose balls, the back court’s energy was unmatched. Combined with a lively 2-3 zone as opposed to the Pride’s normal man-to-man defense, it was exactly what Springfield needed against such a physically large opponent.
“We knew that they were going to be bigger than us, especially our guards,” Czeremcha said. “We just needed to make sure that we were really physical. And I think our zone made them take outside shots, they hit some, but I think in the end, we were way more scrappy. I know they got some rebounds over us but we just had the edge. We had that hunger today.”
Coming off a 51-48 victory against Amherst College on Saturday, Nov. 23 – the first time the program has done so since 2006 – and a tough opponent in Williams, the Pride seem to have found their footing after a 2-3 start to the season.
And for Carrano, she believes this efficient offensive performance is something fans can continue to look forward to from Springfield.
“I think we can expect this from the team,” Carrano said. “Our shots haven’t been falling recently, but they are gonna start falling more – and that’s what we should expect. We got a taste of it, and we want to keep going. We want to keep winning, we’re gritty and we got this.”
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics