AMHERST, Mass. -- Amherst College junior Reeya Patel scored a season-high 26 points Monday night to help the #7 Amherst College women's basketball team to a 65-55 victory over Little 3 and NESCAC rival Wesleyan in the LeFrak Gymnasium. 

The Mammoths improved to 6-0 on the season. They host Lehman College Saturday at 1 p.m. back in LeFrak.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* In the first quarter, the Mammoths were shooting well from the start and built an early 15-5 lead. The Mammoths went 8 of 16 (50 percent) from the floor and nailed 3 of 4 three-point attempts. Patel scored 8 points to lead the way, while Kori Barach had two three-pointers for six points. The Mammoths led 21-11 after the first 10 minutes. 

* Wesleyan kept the Mammoths off the scoreboard over the first two minutes and change of the second stanza, allowing the Cardinals to close back within four at 21-17. Patel, who also ended with 8 points in the second quarter to go in to halftime with 16, broke up the run with a pair of made free throws. Amherst's defensive effort amped up as the Mammoths held the visitors to just one point over a 5:39 span. 

* The Mammoths went on an 8-0 run just before half tp up their lead to 37-20 and that was the score at the break. All 8 points were scored inside the paint, with first years Sylvia Liddle (4) and Anna Tranum (2) doing the honors. Patel had the other, a 6-foot jumper from the lane. 

* The Mammoths would go up one minute into the third quarter on an old-fashioned three-point play by Barach that made it 40-20. But the Cardinals got flying from that point on, hitting 8 of their next 12 shots from the floor while Amherst went cold, going 2 for 10 in the same seven-minute stretch. The Mammoths clung to a 49-44 lead after three quarters.

* AnLing Vera opened the final stanza with a key three-pointer. Wesleyan then crept within two points at 52-50 on a Tori DaCosta jumper with 6:08 remaining. However, Tranum answered that immediately with a short jumper of her own for a 54-50 lead. After a 2:30 stretch of missed baskets and turnovers. Maya Cwalina grabbed a rebound that led to another Tranum jumper and a six-point Amherst lead. With 2:37 remaining, Cwalina fed the ball to Liddle, who hit a long-range two-pointer from the left corner for a 58-50 advantage. 

* In the final 1:44, Vera came up with two key steals, one that led to her own driving lay-up and another which led to two Patel free throws that helped the Mammoths keep their Little 3 rival at bay. 



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Patel was 8 of 17 from the floor and 9 of 10 for the line in the win. The 26 points were the second-most in her career behind a 27-point effort in a win over Wesleyan almost exactly a year ago on Dec.3, 2021. She also collected 8 rebounds in the win. 

* Barach finished with her second straight double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She also had 4 steals. Vera notched 8 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds. Tranum, Liddle and Cwalina each contributed 6 points in the win. 

* The Cardinals had 22 turnovers in the game compared to 16 for Amherst. The Mammoths won the battle on the glass, 42-34. Wesleyan shot 39.6 percent (21 of 53) from the floor while the Mammoths shot 38.7 percent (24 of 62).