AMHERST, Mass. – A career high 10 points from Brielle Renwick and 8 from Abbey Skinner helped the Amherst College women's basketball team cruise past non-conference opponent SUNY Polytechnic Institute, 61-16, Friday evening. 

The Mammoths improved to 7-0 on the season. They will return to the court in three weeks at the Florida Sunshine Shootout, held in Daytona Beach, FL. They will open the tournament against Husson University on Friday, Dec. 29, with tip-off scheduled for 12 p.m. The Wildcats fell to 1-7 this season. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Mammoths opened the game on the front foot, outscoring the Wildcats 22-3 in the game's opening quarter. Reeya Patel and Kori Barach lead the way with 4 points each, and nine different Mammoths hit paydirt during the run. They backed that offensive play up with staunch defense, causing eight Wildcat turnovers and limiting them to just 12.5 percent shooting.

* The second quarter started much tighter, with the two teams locked in a defensive battle. However, the Mammoths began to pull away again late in the quarter, with Maya Cwalina sparking the offense with standout post play, notching 4 points. An Annie McCarthy three with nine seconds to go gave her 7 first-half points and stretched to 30 before the end of the half. The score stood at 38-8 heading into the locker rooms.

* The third quarter was much like the second. After a Patel jumper and two Alix Stuart free throws in the first 70 seconds of the half, both teams went virtually silent on offense, with neither team finding the bottom of the net again until two Anna Tranum free throws at the 5:17 mark. After another cold-spell for both teams, two Wildcat three pointers and two free throws from Macie Nugent closed out the quarter with Amherst on top 48-14.

* The Mammoths opened the quarter with a Nicole Stanford layup, and scored when they needed to the rest of the way to maintain the lead they built over the course of the three prior quarters. Highlights included a contested lay-in by Renwick and Skinner's second triple of the game.



BY THE NUMBERS:
 
* Every player in uniform for the Mammoths scored against the Wildcats. Six Mammoths scored 6 or more points: Renwick, Skinner, McCarthy (7 points), Patel (6 points), Stanford (6 points), and Cwalina (6 points). Brooke Ingemi led the team in assists with 3.

* The Mammoths held SUNY Poly to just 16.7 percent shooting from the floor in the game, and recorded 12 steals and while causing 26 total turnovers. Eight different Mammoths recorded steals in the contest. 

* The Mammoths dominated the contest in every respect, but nowhere was that clearer than on the boards: the Mammoths won the rebound battle 46-21, and brought down 15 offensive boards.