MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The No. 3/2 Amherst College women's basketball team used a 16-point effort from Ali Doswell '17, and strong third quarter defense to help the Purple & White pull away to a convincing, 79-46 victory over Wesleyan University Friday evening at Silloway Gymnasium in Middletown, Conn. 

RECORDS
Amherst (14-0, 2-0 NESCAC)
Wesleyan (6-7, 0-3 NESCAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Leading 40-22 at halftime, Amherst pulled away in the third quarter, netting 19 points and holding Wesleyan to just six as the Purple & White closed out their 14th straight victory to start the season. Amherst shot 46.2% from the field and 42.9% from downtown, while the hosts hit on just 29.6% from the floor and 20% from three-point range.
• Ali Doswell led all players with 16 points, while she and Marley Giddins '16 pulled in a game-high seven rebounds each. Hannah Hackley '18 added 13 points, while Jaimie Renner '17 and Cheyenne Pritchard '16 poured in 11 points apiece.
• Maeve McNamara '19 added seven points, Pritchard and Haley Zwecker '16 dished out a game-high three assists each, and Meredith Doswell '17 blocked three shots to help secure the win.
• The Cardinals were led by an 11-point outing from Danielle Gervacio, while Olivia Gorman and Maddie Bledsoe followed with nine and seven points off the bench respectively. Bledsoe led Wesleyan on the glass with six rebounds.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• After the sides traded jumpers to start the game, Gervacio canned a three-pointer to give Wesleyan a three-point lead at 5-2 with 7:28 to play in the opening quarter. That lead was the largest of the game for Wesleyan, as Amherst used a 16-7 run capped by a Hackley layup at the 1:03 mark to stake am 18-12 lead after 10 minutes of play.
• In the second quarter, an early Tara Berger layup narrowed the Cardinals' gap to 18-14, but another run by the Purple & White fueled by a pair of Ali Doswell swishes from beyond-the -arc helped lift the visitors to a 38-22 lead.
• As time expired in the second stanza, Zwecker drained a jumper to give Amherst a 40-20 lead at the break.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• The third quarter saw the Purple & White continue to pull away as Giddins and Renner converted back-to-back layups to get Amherst off to a fast start in the second half.
• Amherst added to that lead midway through the frame as Ali Doswell scored the next eight points for Amherst. McNamara capped the scoring in the quarter with a trey as the Purple & White held a 59-28 cushion after three quarters of play.
• In the fourth quarter, Amherst pulled away, extending its lead to as many as 34 (73-39) following a bucket in the paint by J.J. Daniell '19 with 2:58 remaining in the contest.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• This is Amherst's second win over Wesleyan this season as the Purple & White topped its NESCAC and Little III rival, 71-30 on Nov. 24 at LeFrak Gymnasium.

UP NEXT

• Amherst resumes play tomorrow afternoon when it travels to Conn. College for a 3 p.m. NESCAC tilt with the Camels in New London, Conn.
• Wesleyan welcomes Trinity College to Middletown, Conn. for a 3 p.m. NESCAC game tomorrow afternoon.