HARTFORD, Conn. -- First-year
AnLing Vera scored a game-high 23 points Saturday to lead the third-seeded Amherst College women's basketball team to a 73-59 victory over second-seeded Tufts in the NESCAC Tournament semifinals at Oosting Gym on the campus of Trinity College.
Amherst, now 21-2 and ranked 8th by D3hoops.com and 9th by the WBCA, will face Bates in the NESCAC Championship game Sunday at 12 p.m. back at Trinity. It will be the Bobcats first appearance in the NESCAC title game since 2006. The Mammoths will be vying for their first NESAC crown since 2018 but their ninth overall.
The Mammoths put four players in double figure scoring by shooting 62.1 percent in the first half and 49 percent for the game. The 73 points scored against Tufts ties for the most they've scored on the Jumbos in any game played since 2001. The last time Amherst scored 73 points against a Tufts team was Feb. 4, 2011.
Besides Vera's prolific output, senior
Courtney Resch played all 40 minutes and posted a double-doubler with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Gabrielle Zaffiro notched 14 points and 5 assists and
Dani Valdez netted 12 points and 8 rebounds in the win.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* Neither team struggled to score in the first quarter, as the teams traded baskets, finding themselves tied at eight when Amherst's Resch hit a layup to give the Mammoths a 10-8 lead. Valdez led the Mammoths to a 21-18 lead after 10 minutes with her 10 first-quarter points.
* The Mammoths gathered momentum in the second quarter, starting on a 14-5 run and extending their lead to 12 with just over six minutes left in the half. The teams went on to trade baskets to head into halftime with a score of 41-35 in favor of Amherst, who was led by Vera's 16 first-half points.
* The second half started with a 7-1 run from the Mammoths to tie their largest lead of the game at 12 just four and a half minutes into the third quarter. A jumper by Vera was followed by a defensive rebound by Resch, who got the ball back to Vera which led to the guard's fast-break lay-up at the other end of the court for a quick nine-point lead at 45-36. Over the next three minutes, neither team scored, but Resch hit a huge three-pointer to make it 48-36 with 4:40 remaining in the quarter. The Mammoths limited the chance of a Jumbos run, holding them to just 11 points in the quarter on 2 of 10 shooting from the floor.
* Amherst continued to control the game and limit scoring opportunities on defense to keep its large lead, going up by as many as 13 points with just under eight minutes to go. Tufts would close within five, but Vera sank three free throws to widen the margin and give the Mammoths the momentum they would need to finish strong for the 73-59 victory.
