WENHAM, Mass. -- Returning to the court for the first time since March 2020, the Amherst College women's basketball team powered to a 53-36 win over Oglethorpe University on Saturday in the Gordon Classic at the Bennett Center. Senior forward Dani Valdez posted her first career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mammoths (1-0), ranked 16th nationally in the D3Hoops.com preseason poll, win their opener for the 19th straight season. Amherst is back in action at Gordon College tomorrow (Nov. 13) at 1 p.m. to face Coast Guard. The Stormy Petrels (0-3) face host Gordon in search of their first win of the season.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• The Mammoths opened the game on a 13-2 run and never trailed.
• Amherst stretched the lead to 14 points by halftime as sophomore guard Reeya Patel hit a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Mammoths a 29-15 halftime lead.
• The Mammoths stretched the lead to 19 when Valdez hit a jumper early in the third quarter but Oglethorpe had its best quarter in the third. The Stormy Petrels outscored the Mammoths, 15-13, in the quarter but still trailed by double digits at the end of the third.
• Amherst shot 5-for-10 from the field in the fourth quarter and held Oglethorpe to 6 points in the final frame to close out the win.
• Patel, Maya Cwalina, Abbey Skinner, Nicole Stanford, Alix Stuart and AnLing Vera all made their collegiate debuts in the contest.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Senior guard Gabrielle Zaffiro tallied a career-high 6 steals to go along with 5 points.
• Patel scored 11 points and dished 4 assists in her collegiate debut.
• Senior center Savannah LeGate led Oglethorpe with 10 points off the bench.
• Amherst's stingy defense held Oglethorpe to just 36 points, the lowest offensive output for the Stormy Petrels since February 2020.
• The Mammoths forced 22 Oglethorpe turnovers and held a 22-6 advantage in points off turnovers with 11 of Amherst's points off turnovers coming in the first quarter.