AMHERST, Mass. – Sophomore guard Reeya Patel posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Amherst College women's basketball team held off a late charge from Emmanuel College for a 58-53 victory in a clash of unbeaten teams on Tuesday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.

The Mammoths, ranked seventh in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll and third in the WBCA Division III poll, improved to 4-0 this season while the reigning GNAC champion Saints suffered their first loss and fell to 3-1.

The Mammoths are back in action on Sunday (Dec. 4), visiting reigning NJAC champion New Jersey City for a 3 p.m. tilt.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Saints had the early advantage in the contest, opening the game on an 8-2 run and holding the lead for the entire first quarter as Emmanuel sophomore Yannie Chan tallied seven points in the opening frame. Amherst first-year Sylvia Liddle hit a three-pointer with a minute to go that cut the Emmanuel lead to 13-12 at the end of the first.

* The Mammoths hit their offensive stride in the second quarter with a 23-13 advantage on the scoreboard. Sophomore guard AnLing Vera opened the quarter with a long two-pointer that gave Amherst a 14-13 lead and the Mammoths held the lead for the rest of the game.

* Amherst slowly and steadily built a lead throughout the second quarter with sophomore guard Kori Barach hitting two free throws to put the Mammoths up by 13 after she had drained a pair of threes earlier in the quarter. Amherst entered halftime with a 35-26 lead.

* The Mammoths continued to build their lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Saints by a 19-8 margin. A 9-0 run early in the quarter bookended by Barach field goals gave the Mammoths a 16-point lead and a layup at the buzzer from junior forward Abbey Skinner made the score 54-34 after three quarters.

* The Saints came charging back in the fourth quarter. After Skinner made a layup on the opening possession, Emmanuel scored 19 straight points to get back within three points when junior guard Olivia Matela hit a three to cut the Amherst lead to 56-53 with 2:10 to play.

* Neither team scored a field goal after that point as the Mammoths held on defensively with a pair of free throws from Barach with two seconds to go ending the Emmanuel run and accounting for the final score.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Barach contributed 14 points, 5 rebounds and a career-high 3 steals for the Mammoths.

* The Mammoths shot 36 percent (21-of-59) from the floor but those numbers varied wildly by quarter. After shooting a 38 percent (5-of-13) clip in the first, the Mammoths shot 50 percent (8-of-16) in the second and 41 percent (7-of-17) in the third before shooting just 8 percent (1-of-13) in the fourth.

* The Saints also had an up-and-down night from the floor. After a consistent first half in line with their 36 percent (20-of-55) field goal shooting clip for the game, Emmanuel shot just 20 percent (3-of-15) in the third quarter before shooting 54 percent (7-of-13) in the fourth.

* The Saints won the rebound battle by a 43-35 margin as sophomore forward Desiree Robinson grabbed nine boards.

* Chan scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Saints.