From a Wesleyan University Release

February 3, 2007

MIDDLETOWN, CT – The Amherst College women's basketball team came back from a 17-point second-half deficit to trail by just three points in the final minute, but was unable to complete the comeback as the Jeffs fell to Wesleyan University 48-43. The loss is Amherst's third straight, dropping the Jeffs to 12-11 (3-5 NESCAC) on the season, while Wesleyan improves to 13-7 (4-3 NESCAC).

Sophomore Kerry O'Loughlin (Stow, MA) gave Amherst a 3-0 lead with a three-pointer on the Jeffs' second possession of the game, but Wesleyan followed with a 13-0 run to jump out to an early 13-3 lead.  The Cardinals maintained control of the first period and settled for a 26-18 lead at halftime.  The hosts opened the second half with a 15-6 burst to hold a 17-point lead midway through the period. 

After building a 41-24 lead with 9:10 left in the game, Wesleyan had to hold off a charging Amherst squad which had won the non-NESCAC meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 16 in Amherst, 81-69.  Amherst mounted a 16-2 run over a span of 7:33 to whittle the difference to 43-40 and had possession with a minute to go, but a bad pass resulted in a turnover with 55 seconds on the clock and Wesleyan junior Nikki Maletta scored on a drive to the hoop with :30 showing for a 45-40 edge, marking only the second bucket for the Cardinals in over eight minutes. 

Amherst cut the deficit back to three points, 45-42, at the :18.5 mark on a nice feed from junior Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, NY) to first-year Sam Swensen (Rockaway Park, NY) for a basket.  Amherst called a timeout but had none left, and Maletta made one of two free throws on the technical foul. 

Sophomore Amanda Otieno (Gloucester, MA) was unable to cash in on a pair of free throws for Amherst with 12.6 seconds left, and sophomore Meredith Lowe then dropped in a pair of freebies for Wesleyan at to make it 48-42.  The next Amherst possession had a pair of offensive rebounds but only resulted in one junior Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, IL) free throw for the final margin in the last second.

Reiff finished with a game-high 15 points, but it was not enough for the Jeffs, who turned the ball over 28 times and knocked down only 50% of their free throws. Sophomore Yasmine Harik (New York, NY) put in a solid all-around performance, totaling eight points, five rebounds and four steals.

The Lord Jeffs return to action and close out their regular season Saturday, Feb. 10 with a home match-up against Trinity College. Game time is set for 3 p.m.

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