AMHERST, Mass. – The No. 3/2 Amherst College women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season and its first home setback since Jan. 31, 2009 when it was edged, 52-51 by NESCAC rival No. 9/8 Tufts University in Saturday afternoon's thriller at LeFrak Gymnasium.

RECORDS
Tufts (20-2, 9-0 NESCAC)
Amherst (21-1, 7-1 NESCAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In an evenly matched, and well-played contest, the sides battled nine ties and seven lead changes throughout the game with neither team establishing more than an eight point lead.
• Clinging to a one-point 48-47 lead with 2:28 to play in the fourth quarter, Josie Lee made a layup to give Tufts a 50-47 edge. Jaimie Renner '17 answered with a pair of free throws for Amherst 13 seconds later to pull the Purple & White back to within one, but the Jumbos used a Michela North jumper in the paint with 49 seconds left to extend the visitor's lead back to three (52-49).
• Thirteen seconds later, Hannah Hackley '18 swished a pair of foul shots to set the score at 52-51, and following a defensive rebound by Ali Doswell '17 on Tufts ensuing possession, Amherst had a chance to win the game as time expired, but Cheyenne Pritchard's '16 attempt did not fall.
• Hackley led the Purple & White with 15 points and added five rebounds, while Meredith Doswell '17 tabbed 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Jackie Nagle '18 provided nine points and six boards, while Ali Doswell finished with eight points and seven rebounds off the bench.
• North led all players in scoring and on the glass with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Melissa Baptista followed with 12 points and seven boards, while Emma Roberson netted eight points and six rebounds. Michelle Wu chipped in seven points off the bench for the Jumbos.

FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Early in the first quarter, Amherst ran out to a 6-0 lead as Zwecker canned a mid-range jumper, and Meredith Doswell powered in a pair of layups.
• Trailing 10-4 with 4:17 to play in the first period, Tufts' defense held the Purple & White scoreless over the next 4:02 as North, Roberson, Wu and Katy Hicks each made layups to give the Jumbos a 12-10 lead.
• A bucket in the paint by Hackley with 15 seconds left evened the game at 12-12, and following a turnover by the Jumbos, Renner beat the buzzer with a basket underneath to give Amherst a 14-12 lead after one period of play.
• In the second quarter, Nagle his the first shot of the frame to give the Purple & White a 16-12 lead, but the Jumbos rallied for nine of the next 10 points capped by a Maura Folliard make from three-point range to give the visitors a 21-17 lead.
• A pair of Meredith Doswell free throws, followed by a layup from Ali Doswell tied the score at 21-21, before Roberson hit a clutch jumper with four ticks on the clock to give Tufts a 23-21 advantage at intermission.

SECOND HALF HIGHLIGHTS

• Trailing 28-27 with just under seven minutes to play in the third stanza, Meredith Doswell made a pair from the charity stripe, and the Purple & White scored nine unanswered points to stake a 36-28 lead – its largest of the game – with 1:58 to play in the period.
• Baptista then made four foul shots, and North knocked down 1-of-2 from the line to set the score at 37-33 in favor of Amherst headed into the fourth quarter.
• After Ali Doswell connected on a mid-range jumper to lift the host's cushion back to six (39-33), Wu answered with a triple for the Jumbos to pull them back to within three.
• Two Hackley foul shots lifted the lead back to five for Amherst, a North layup and two free throws kept the game close.
• The game leveled off twice more before the Jumbos were able to see out the frantic finish and complete the 52-51 victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The loss is just the first of the season for Amherst who had won 21 straight entering today's contest. The setback is also the first at home since Jan. 31, 2009, ending a remarkable run of 121 straight home wins.
• The streak is the longest of its kind by any women's basketball program across all divisions, and is second only to the University of Kentucky's men's basketball program which established a 129-game home winning streak from 1943-1955.

UP NEXT

• Amherst returns to NESCAC action Friday, Feb. 12 at Middlebury College for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Panthers.
• Tufts closes out its regular season Friday, Feb. 12 when it hosts Williams College at 7 p.m. in Medford, Mass.