AMHERST, Mass. – Powered by a 21-0 run that spanned halftime, the Amherst College women's basketball team earned a 56-42 win over Colby College in NESCAC action on Friday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.

The Mammoths improved to 16-7 overall and 4-5 in NESCAC play and enter the final day of the regular season in a four-way tie for fifth place along with Bates, Bowdoin and Hamilton. The Mules fell to 8-13 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

The Mammoths conclude the regular season tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 11), hosting Bowdoin at 3 p.m. Amherst could still finish as high as fourth and host a NESCAC quarterfinal game or as low as ninth and miss the playoffs entirely.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The first quarter belonged to the Mules as Colby jumped out to a 13-2 lead with junior Carter McGloon scoring seven points in the opening quarter.

* Junior Caroline Smith closed the first and opened the second with field goals to give the Mules a 21-7 lead.

* First-year Brooke Ingemi provided a spark off the bench for the Mammoths, hitting a three and adding a layup to cut the Colby lead to single digits. Classmate Anna Tranum followed with a layup that brought Amherst back within seven.

* The Mammoths chipped away for the rest of the second quarter as junior Reeya Patel and sophomore AnLing Vera each scored a pair of baskets before Tranum sunk a pair of free throws in the final minute to cut the Colby lead to 26-24 at halftime.

* The Mammoths thoroughly dominated the third quarter as Tranum's second-quarter free throws kicked off a 21-0 run that put Amherst up, 43-26, when Vera drained a three with 4:10 on the clock in the third. Vera scored 13 points, including three three-pointers, during the stretch in which the Mammoths didn't miss a shot, shooting 6-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the foul line.

* After Smith's layup opened the second quarter at the 9:23 mark, the Mules were held without a field goal until 6:30 to go in the fourth quarter, when first-year Chelsea Ibenegbu converted a traditional three-point play. The Mules held a 14-11 edge on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter but never got closer than 12 points.



BY THE NUMBERS:

* Vera led the Mammoths with 19 points and 6 assists, while sophomore guard Kori Barach tallied her ninth double-double of the season – and third in the last four games – with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

* The Mammoths held the edge in shooting but the statistics varied wildly from quarter to quarter. The Mules shot 54 percent (8-of-15) while holding the Mammoths to 18 percent (3-of-17) from the floor in the first quarter, but over the second and third quarters, the Mammoths shot 50 percent (14-of-28) while holding the Mules to 6 percent (1-of-17). For the game, Amherst was 36 percent (21-of-59) from the floor and Colby shot 31 percent (12-of-29).

* The Mammoths held a 46-23 edge in rebounding, helped by career highs from Tranum (9) and Ingemi (8).