AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College women's basketball team hosted local rival Smith College this evening in non-conference action at LeFrak Gymnasium. The undefeated Lord Jeffs improved to 9-0 this evening with an 81-45 win over the Pioneers. The nine game win streak registers as the best start for the Amherst program in the last decade.
The Pioneers jumped out to 6-0 run before Amherst senior tri-captain Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, NY) was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer. Pollack knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to put Amherst on the board.
Smith powered to a 14-8 edge four minutes into the first half as six different players made their first shot of the game to keep the Pioneers perfect.
Amherst grabbed its first lead of the game at the 10:23 mark of the first half on a fade away jumper from the right baseline by senior tri-captain Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, IL). The bucket gave Amherst an 18-17 lead.
Junior guard Amanda Otieno (Gloucester, MA) broke a 21-21 tie with a three pointer from the top of the key with just under seven minutes to play in the half. Amherst took its largest lead of the half at 26-21, when Pollack knocked down another pair from the line.
The Pioneers went on a 7-3 run over a 3:44 span to knot the game up at 33-33, before first-year Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, OH) was fouled with just six seconds remaining. Leyman hit both free throws to give the Lord Jeffs a 35-33 lead heading into the locker room.
Smith's Berit Schelde led all scorers with 13 points at the half on 5-of-6 shooting, while Amherst sophomore Sam Swensen (Rockaway Park, NY) led the Lord Jeffs with 10 points and a pair of rebounds. Both sides went into the lock rooms shooting exactly 50% from the floor.
Swensen gave the Jeffs a 42-37 lead on a three point play in the paint, before four consecutive steals from Amherst in the back court sparked an 8-0 run. The Lord Jeffs suddenly found themselves leading 50-37 just five minutes into the second half.
Junior Stacy Brossy (Honolulu, HI) followed her own miss with an offensive rebound and a three pointer from the right wing to increase the Amherst lead to 15 points. Brossy nailed another long range bomb from the left win on the following possession to give the Jeffs a 56-38 lead with 10:52 to play.
After a nice put-back lay-in from first-year Jaci Daigneault (Guilford, CT), Brossy nailed her third three pointer of the game to push the Jeff advantage to 27 points. With six minutes to play, senior tri-captain Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, IL) scored her 846thcareer point to move into tenth place on the Amherst College all-time scoring list.
The impressive second half effort from the Lord Jeffs let them cruise to an 81-45 victory. Brossy led all scorers on the night, racking up 14 points, just one shy of her career high.
Amherst will break for exams and the holiday vacation, and then return to action on Thursday Jan. 3 for a 10 a.m. game against Saint Norbert College in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
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