WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The 7th-ranked Amherst College women's basketball team traveled west this afternoon to re-new one of the most storied rivalries in Division III basketball when they took on the Ephs of Williams College. The Lord Jeffs outscored their rivals 51-24 in the second half for the blowout win.
Amherst jumped out to a 9-2 lead after five minutes of action on a number of second chance scores. The Ephs responded with an 8-0 run to take a 10-9 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the frame.
Williams extended its lead to 13-9 on a three pointer from Chessie Jackson, before an Amherst turnover forced head coach G.P. Gromacki to call the first timeout of the game with nine minutes remaining before the break. The Jeffs responded to the tactic with a pair of quick scores to tie the game at 13-13.
Sophomore Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, OH) put home her own miss to regain the lead for Amherst, before Lisa Jaris answered for the Ephs. Leyman finished off a nice assist from first-year Shannon Finucane (Cortland, NY) to leave Amherst down 22-21 with three minutes to play.
Senior co-captain Yasmine Harik (New York, NY) put home a tough bucket to put the Jeffs up 23-22. Finucane added a pair at the line to increase Amherst's lead to 25-22 before a last-second three attempt from the Ephs rimmed out.
At the break, Amherst held onto a small lead, but was shooting just 32% from the field, and was yet to make a three pointer. The Ephs held a 10-9 edge on the offensive glass, but Amherst's eight second-chance points to Williams' zero were the difference.
Amherst sophomore Jaci Daigneault (Guilford, CT) started the second half with a nice three-point play, before dropping home a short jump hook on the next possession. After an Eph miss, Amherst first-year Kim Fiorentino (Holmdel, NJ) made a lay-up to put Amherst up 32-22.
The Lord Jeffs continued to crash the offensive boards, and put back missed shots to blow open a 36-24 lead with 17:30 to play in the second half. By the time six and a half minutes had elapsed in the second half, Amherst opened up a 20-point lead 46-26.
The Jeffs extended their lead to 61-37 with 6:56 to go in the second half with more of the same high energy work on the offensive glass. The lead swelled to 76-43 with 1:30 to play as Kristyn Dunleavy (East Setauket, NY) and Caroline Stedman (Walpole, MA) hit back-to-back threes.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Amherst dribbled out a 76-46 victory to improve to 13-0 on the year. Daigneault was the leading scorer for Amherst with 23 points, including 17 in the second half. Leyman added 19 points for Amherst, while Jackson paced the Ephs with 13 points.
Amherst returns to action on Monday evening when they host Springfield College at 7:30 p.m.
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