WATERVILLE, ME. – A 25-point double-double from
Kori Barach and a fourth-quarter rally helped the Amherst College women's basketball team stretch their win streak to six on Friday night, taking down Colby 64-59 on the road.
With the victory, the Mammoths improved to 19-4. They will take the court for the final time in the regular season tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 10. Tip-off for against Bowdoin College is set for 3 p.m. With the loss, the Mules fell to 12-10 on the season.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* As has been the pattern this season, the Mammoths started slow offensively, going down 6-0 to the Mules early in the contest. Barach broke the ice with just over 6:30 to go in the first frame with an up-and-under finish, before two Colby free throws and an
Anna Tranum three brought the deficit to three, at to 8-5. However, that was as close as the Mammoths would get in the first, as the Mules responded with a 7-2 run to end the period and extend their lead to 15-7.
* Undeterred, Amherst opened the second on a 14-2 run, with buckets from Barach and
Maya Cwalina at the rim helped get the scoring started, then
Reeya Patel got a tough and-one to go, narrowing the deficit to three.
Sylvia Liddle converted at the rack before a Barach trey gave the Mammoths a lead and a Cwalina jumper capped off an excellent first five minutes of the quarter.
* The teams began trading buckets from there, but the Mammoths again found their stride while down one, with
Annie McCarthy hitting a three to regain the advantage and a Barach reverse widened the margin to four. The Mules rallied in the final minute, and the teams entered the locker rooms with the score at 26-25 in favor of the Mammoths.
* With the Mammoths down 32-28 with 4:30 to go in the third quarter, the Mammoths looked to seize the momentum.
Anna Tranum laid the ball in to narrow the deficit to two. However, Colby would not let their lead go easily, and fought for a nine-point lead by the end of the third frame, going on a 10-3 run in the final 2:00 to hold a 46-37 advantage at the horn.
* Now in the final quarter with their backs against the wall, Amherst again began to find the bottom of the basket. Barach and McCarthy opened the scoring with a pair of free throws each. The Mammoths followed that up with three layups by Barach and one by Tranum to get within two, at 48-46 with 6:15 left in the contest.
* With 3:27 to go and down five, the Mammoths went on a 7-0 run, capped off by another Patel and-one that gave them the 56-54 lead with 2:04 to go, their first since the third quarter. A McCarthy layup extended the margin to four with just over a minute remaining.
* With the ball and a narrow 58-54 lead, Barach came in clutch and converted at the basket to give the Mammoths a four-point advantage. On Colby's ensuing offensive possession, Cwalina came up big, using all of her six-foot-two-inch frame, recording a massive block to prevent the Mules from scoring. McCarthy and Patel hit one free throw each to extend the lead to six. And though the Mules made it interesting with a three, Barach went 2-2 on her next trip to the charity stripe, and the Mammoths left Waterville with a 64-59 win.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Barach lead all scorers with a 25-point, 10 rebound double-double, her sixth of the season, which also included 5 assists and 1 steal. Patel finished with 10 points, followed by Tranum, who notched 9.
* During the second and fourth quarters, Mammoths' two most productive, they shot 53.3 and 42.1 percent from the field. However, the game stayed closed because Amherst shot only 13.3 percent from the field in the first frame and 26.1 percent in the third.
* The Mammoths committed only 12 turnovers in the contest, and recorded 17 points on 17 Colby turnovers.
