BRUNSWICK, Maine – First-year guard
AnLing Vera scored a career-high 26 points and added 5 assists to lead the Amherst College women's basketball team to a 72-54 win at Bowdoin College in NESCAC action on Sunday afternoon at Morrell Gymnasium.
The Mammoths, ranked 11th in the nation in the latest
D3hoops.com poll and tied for 10th in the
WBCA Coaches Poll, improved to 16-2 overall and 5-2 in NESCAC play with their sixth straight win, while the Polar Bears fell to 16-5 overall and 5-3 in conference action.
The Mammoths are back in action on Tuesday (Feb. 8) at 7 p.m., hosting Middlebury for a NESCAC clash.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
* Senior captain
Dani Valdez scored on the first possession of the game and the Mammoths never trailed. Valdez scored Amherst's first six points of the game and fellow captain
Gabrielle Zaffiro capped the first quarter with a three at the buzzer to give the Mammoths a 15-8 lead.
* The Mammoths added another 10 points to their lead in the second quarter, powered by 17 points from Vera. The rookie guard hit three three-pointers in the second quarter, including a shot at the buzzer from beyond half court that gave the Mammoths at 38-21 halftime lead.
* An 11-0 run early in the third pushed the Mammoths lead to 26 points and Amherst finished the third with a 64-33 lead after Vera hit another buzzer-beating three to close the quarter.
* The Polar Bears made a strong fourth-quarter comeback effort, outscoring the Mammoths, 21-8, in the final frame, but Amherst's lead was too much to overcome.
BY THE NUMBERS
* The Mammoths shot 52 percent (30-of-58) from the field, their second game this season shooting over 50 percent, while holding the Polar Bears to 34 percent (22-of-65). One team shot over 50 percent in each quarter with Amherst hitting more than half its shots in each of the first three quarters before Bowdoin shot 8-of-15 in the fourth.
* Vera's 26 points came on 11-of-16 field goal shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
* Valdez scored 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor and led the Mammoths with 7 rebounds, while sophomore guard
Reeya Patel added 11 points and 5 rebounds.
* Senior captain
Courtney Resch blocked three shots and grabbed five rebounds.