AMHERST, Mass. – The No. 3/2 Amherst College women's basketball team used a collegiate career-high 27-point, 13-rebound effort from Ali Doswell '17 to help spark the Purple & White to a 66-54 victory over NESCAC and Little III rival Williams College Wednesday evening in non-conference action LeFrak Gymnasium. 

RECORDS
Williams (13-5)
Amherst (19-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Amherst outscored Williams, 24-10 in the first quarter to help the Purple & White stake a 39-26 lead at halftime. Amherst led by as many as 17 points with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter to help the hosts seal the win.
• Ali Doswell was terrific in all phases of Wednesday's contest, netting a team-high 27 points, highlighted by five three-pointers in addition to pulling down a game-best 13 rebounds. She added four steals, and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Jaimie Renner '17 added 13 points and was 6-for-7 from the charity stripe. She also dished out three helpers and registered seven steals. Meredith Doswell '17 finished with nine points and nine rebounds, while Cheyenne Pritchard '16 chipped in seven points.
• The Ephs were led by Amanni Fernandez who matched Ali Doswell's 8-for-22 field goal shooting and finished with a game-high 28 points. Fernandez was 4-for-5 from beyond-the-arc and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She added a team-best eight rebounds, dished out four assists, and notched three steals, while Oge Uwanaka and Katie Litman logged eight points each in the losing effort.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• With the scored tied at 5-5 after just 2:44 of action, Amherst used a 13-0 run to claim an 18-5 advantage with 3:42 to play in the frame following a Pritchard layup.
• A pair of Doswell triples with time winding down in the quarter, including one at the buzzer, lifted the Purple & White to a 24-10 cushion at intermission.
• Jackie Nagle '18 powered in a basket in the paint to start the second quarter and gave the hosts their largest lead of the half (16 points).
• Williams closed to within eight (26-18) following a strike from long distance by Fernandez, but an 11-3 run, capped by Nagle layup swelled Amherst's lead back to 16 points (37-21) with 2:56 to play.
• Trailing 39-24 with time expiring in the second stanza, Fernandez made a layup to beat the buzzer and pull the Ephs to within 13 at 39-26.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• In the third quarter, the Purple & White maintained their cushion and posted their largest lead of the contest (17 points) and set the score to 52-35 with 3:56 to play in the period.
• Clutch three-point baskets by Lauren McCall and Fernandez, and a Kristin Fechtelkotte layup with 23 seconds on the clock, helped pull the visitors to within 12 (57-45) heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
• Litman delivered the first bucket of the fourth quarter for the Ephs to narrow their deficit to 10 points just 43 seconds into the frame. Williams was then held scoreless until the 2:53 mark when McCall made a bucket underneath to make it 61-49.
• A three-point play by Fernandez dwindled the Purple & White lead to single digits (61-52), and a layup by Uwanaka at the 1:17 mark shrunk the lead to eight (62-54), but that's as close as the Ephs could get as Renner made four consecutive free throws to set the final score at 66-54.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Amherst extends its sensational home game winning streak to 119 games with tonight's victory.

UP NEXT

• Amherst returns to LeFrak Gymnasium Saturday, Jan. 30 when it hosts Trinity College at 3 p.m. in the fourth game of its six-game homestand.
• Williams is back in action Saturday for a non-league matchup at Bridgewater State University. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.