After posting a 19-2 record in the regular season, the Amherst College women's basketball team is set to embark on its postseason journey with a matchup in the NESCAC Quarterfinals against Colby on Sunday (Feb. 20) at 2 p.m. at LeFrak Gymnasium.

The Mammoths, ranked ninth in the nation in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Coaches Polls, carry a nine-game winning streak into the NESCAC Tournament. Amherst finished the conference slate with a 7-2 record to claim the third seed, one-half game behind top-seeded Trinity and second-seeded Tufts, who both finished at 8-2 with an uneven number of games played this season due to COVID-19 protocols.

Given the uneven number of games played between teams, the NESCAC Tournament was expanded for this season only to include all 11 teams with the bottom six teams in the standings meeting in first-round games on Friday night. Colby was the 11th seed after a 2-8 NESCAC campaign and made the most of its tournament invitation with a 67-58 win at sixth-seeded defending champion Bowdoin in the first round on Friday.

This season's tournament marks a return to postseason play for the first time since the pandemic abruptly halted the 2020 season as Amherst was preparing to play in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 for the 13th consecutive season. Five seniors return from that team while the rest of the Mammoths will be getting their first taste of postseason action. All will be seeking the first NESCAC Championship of their career as they try to win Amherst's ninth conference crown and first since 2018.

The Mammoths have been defined this season by a balanced offense and stifling defense. Four Mammoths average between 9 and 11 points with senior captains Dani Valdez (11.5 ppg) and Gabrielle Zaffiro (11.0 ppg), first-year AnLing Vera (10.2 ppg) and sophomore Reeya Patel (9.2 ppg) pacing the team in scoring. Five different Mammoths have led the team in scoring in a game and eight different Mammoths have notched at least one game scoring in double figures.

The Mammoths boast the stingiest defense in the NESCAC, allowing just 48.7 points per game, a mark that ranks 10th in the nation. Amherst also leads the league with 5.4 blocks per game, led by senior captain Courtney Resch, who has blocked 47 shots this season and ranks third in Amherst history with 163 career blocks in just three seasons with her junior season wiped out by the pandemic. Resch set an Amherst single-game record with 12 blocks in Amherst's last postseason game in the 2020 NCAA Tournament.

Colby enters the quarterfinals on a three-game winning streak with a 12-9 overall record. Sophomore Caroline Smith leads the Mules with 14.1 points per game and scored 24 points in Friday's first-round win over Bowdoin. Senior Chiamaka Ubani averages 2.3 steals per game to rank second in the NESCAC.

When these teams collided in the regular season, the Mammoths earned a 59-47 win at Colby on February 5. Valdez notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow senior captain Lauren Pelosi scored a career-high 17 points, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while senior Keagan Dunbar led the Mules with 16 points. Amherst has not lost to Colby since 2004 and the Mammoths are 6-0 all-time in NESCAC Tournament games against the Mules.

The highest remaining seed after this weekend's quarterfinal games will host the semifinals and final of the NESCAC Tournament next weekend on February 26-27.

NESCAC Tournament Seeding:
1. Trinity (.800)*
2. Tufts (.800)*
3. Amherst (.778)
4. Middlebury (.600)^
5. Bates (.600)^
6. Bowdoin (.500)
7. Wesleyan (.400)
8. Williams (.300)
9. Connecticut College (.250)
10. Hamilton (.222)
11. Colby (.200)

Tiebreakers
* Trinity defeated Tufts in head-to-head competition to earn the No. 1 seed.
^ Middlebury defeated Bates in head-to-head competition to earn the No. 4 seed.

2022 NESCAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round – Friday, February 18 (at Higher Seeds)
No. 11 Colby def. No. 6 Bowdoin, 67-58
No. 7 Wesleyan def. No. 10 Hamilton, 63-52
No. 8 Williams def. No. 9 Connecticut College, 40-31

Quarterfinals (at Higher Seeds)
Saturday, February 19
No. 5 Bates at No. 4 Middlebury – 2 p.m.
Sunday, February 20
No. 8 Williams at No. 1 Trinity – 2 p.m.
No. 11 Colby at No. 3 Amherst – 2 p.m.
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Tufts – 4:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Saturday, February 26 (at Highest Remaining Seed)
2 p.m. | 4:30 p.m.
Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Remaining Quarterfinal Winners

Championship – Sunday, February 27
Semifinal Winners - 12 p.m.