AMHERST, Mass. -- Sophomore Reeya Patel and first-year AnLing Vera each scored 13 points to lead the Amherst women's basketball team to a 64-42 win over Rhode Island College on Monday night in the home opener at LeFrak Gymnasium.
The Mammoths (3-0), ranked 16th in the nation in the preseason D3hoops.com poll, continue their homestand on Thursday, Nov. 18, hosting Gordon at 7 p.m., while the reigning Little East champion Anchorwomen (1-2) visit Babson on Wednesday.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- RIC hit the first two baskets of the game but Amherst responded with 14 unanswered points to take a 14-4 lead and outscored the Anchorwomen, 22-7, in the opening frame. Senior Dani Valdez scored 10 points by the end of the first, going 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line while grabbing three rebounds.
- The Mammoths held RIC to six second-quarter points and extended their lead with senior Lauren Pelosi's second three-pointer of the quarter giving Amherst a 36-13 lead at the half.
- Amherst extended the lead to 31 points early in the third before the Anchorwomen put together their best stretch of the game with a 15-1 run that cut the Amherst lead to 17 early in the fourth quarter. The Mammoths ended the comeback effort there as a Jade DuVal basket put Amherst up 50-30 and the Mammoths kept the lead above 20 points until the final horn.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The 13-point efforts from Patel and Vera were high-water marks for each in their young rookie campaign. Patel added 8 rebounds to lead the team while Vera chipped in 4 boards.
- Gabrielle Zaffiro stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks - career highs in both assists and blocks for the senior captain.
- Amherst shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the field and an astounding 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from beyond the arc. That marks the best three-point shooting percentage for Amherst since December 2016. The Mammoths held RIC to 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting from the field and 33.3 percent (4-of-12) on three-pointers.
- The Mammoths capitalized on extra opportunities. Amherst committed 8 turnovers and forced 11 from RIC, but the Mammoths held a 19-5 lead in points off turnovers. Offensive rebounds were even at 13-13, but Amherst posted a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points.