AMHERST, MA – With a convincing 86-52 win over archrival Williams College this evening at LeFrak Gymnasium, the top-ranked Amherst College women's basketball team moved to within one game of a perfect regular season at 23-0 (8-0 NESCAC). The Lord Jeffs will go for the first 24-0 regular season in Amherst basketball history tomorrow afternoon against Middlebury College, while Williams falls to 17-6 (6-2) with the loss. With the win, Amherst also clinched the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC Championship.
Amherst started the game on an 18-2 run with a heavy dose of starters Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, OH), Jackie Renner (Newton, MA) and Shannon Finucane (Cortland, NY). The Lord Jeffs were able to build the early lead by playing tough defense and getting out on the break for easy layups in transition. After getting a pair of free throws from Lisa Jaris early on, the Ephs did not score their first basket until the 12:46 mark of the half on a Jen Borderud jumper.
The Ephs were able to get Lem Atanga McCormick (Chicago, IL) in foul trouble early in the first half, as first-year Grace Rehnquist provided a spark off the bench to put a dent in Amherst's lead. With Atanga McCormick on the bench with two fouls, play opened up for the Ephs and Rehnquist made a pair of deep threes.
The Lord Jeffs used a very balanced attack to stretch their lead back to 18 points with 6:36 to play in the half on a bucket by Leyman. The junior co-captain led Amherst with 10 points in the half, as the Jeffs took a 39-25 lead into the break. Rehnquist paced the Ephs in the first stanza with 10 points of her own.
In the first five minutes of the second half, Williams closed the gap to nine points, but Amherst responded with a 5-0 run to stretch its lead back to 50-35. The Ephs were able to hang with Amherst for a good portion of the second half as a number of players stepped up to hit three-pointers, with Chessie Jackson hitting her first shots from behind the arc this season.
With 12:49 to play in the second half, the Ephs trailed Amherst by just a dozen points before the Lord Jeff offense hit its stride once again. Over the next four minutes of action, Amherst stretched the lead back to 24 points on a triple by Caroline Stedman (Walpole, MA). The three got Stedman back on track, as she hit a handful of long balls in the second half.
As the Lord Jeffs cruised to an 86-52 win, Stedman led five Amherst players in double-digit scoring with 17 points. Finucane had 14 points and seven assists, while Renner added 11 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds and four blocks for the Jeffs. Kristyn Dunleavy (Setauket, NY) and Leyman chipped in with 12 points each, while Rehnquist and Jackson paced the Ephs with 11 apiece.
BOX SCORE
