MIDDLEBURY, VT. – The fifth-seeded Amherst College women's basketball team began postseason play with the NESCAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb 17 on the road versus Middlebury. Despite a strong first half, the Mammoths lost in the tournament's first round for the second-straight year, this time 59-48 to the No. 4 seed Panthers.
With the loss, the Mammoths fell to 19-6 this season, while Middlebury improved to 17-8. With the loss, Amherst will hope to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, with selections occurring after the conclusion of all conference postseason play nation-wide next weekend.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* The Mammoths started the game locked in, with
Reeya Patel following her own missed layup and getting the follow to go, before back-to-back post buckets from
Maya Cwalina and Patel put the Mammoths up 6-0. The Panthers got on the board soon after, but Amherst turned up the heat in response, with a two Cwalina free throws and an
Anna Tranum post move extending the lead to seven.
* Key to building that first-quarter lead was the Mammoths defensive play: they held Middlebury without a field goal for a six-minute stretch that ended with just five seconds left in the first frame. Amherst led 12-7 after one.
* The second quarter belonged to the Mammoths. They found some matchups they liked, utilizing Cwalina inside again and again as the Panthers couldn't seem to find an answer. She recorded four points in the second frame to end the half with 10 points. With her offensive and defensive effort --- she also notched three blocks in the first half --- and good three-point shooting around her from Tranum and Patel, the Mammoths led 26-18 at the halftime horn.
* However, the Panthers started the second half by scoring the first six points and holding the Mammoths scoreless in the half's opening five minutes to get within two at 26-24.
Laura Mendell broke the scoreless stretch with a layup, before
Kori Barach got on the board with a three to extend the margin to five. But Middlebury stuck around, tying the game with a three of their own with a minute to go in the quarter, and after a Barach free throw, taking a 36-34 advantage into the final quarter with another trey with 3.2 seconds to go.
* The Panthers kept the momentum that they built heading into the fourth, going on a 8-3 run to take a 44-38 lead. Barach halted the run with a step-back, but the Panthers responded with two more three-pointers to go up by ten with four minutes to go.
* Down 12 with three minutes left, Barach nailed another three to get the deficit into single digits before Cwalina went 1-2 at the line to draw the Mammoths within eight. However, the Panthers were able to convert at the line down the stretch while locking up the Mammoths' best shooters down, and the game would end in a 59-48 loss for Amherst.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*
Maya Cwalina was the Mammoths' leading scorer on the day, with 16 points to go along with six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. Barach notched 12 points and Patel scored eight.
* The Mammoths won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Panthers 38-36 in the contest and 15-12 on the offensive end. However, unforced errors plagued them all day, and they were unable to convert on those opportunities --- they turned the ball over 17 times while only forcing 10 by Middlebury.
* This game was won and lost at the charity stripe. The Mammoths were called for 21 personal fouls, compared to the 10 called on the Panthers. And, Amherst only attempted 12 free throws, going 58.3 percent (7-12) from the line while Middlebury converted at a 65% clip.
