Amherst Doubles Up Mount Holyoke, 80-40
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Nov. 20, 2007) - Senior forward Stephanie Reiff (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) tallied a game-high 16 points to boost the Amherst College women's basketball team to an 80-40 victory over non-conference foe Mount Holyoke College this evening at the Mildred Howard Gymnasium. With the win, the Lord Jeffs improved to a perfect 3-0. The Lyons fell to 0-3.Amherst shot 41.6% (32-77) from the field, draining seven three-pointers. The Lord Jeffs forced Mount Holyoke into 41 turnovers and came up with 24 steals. They received a spark from sophomore forward Samantha Swenson (Rockaway Park, N.Y./Poly Prep Country), who scored 11 points and pulled down a squad-best six rebounds. First year guard Jaclyn Daigneault (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) recorded 11 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, N.Y./Great Neck North) added eight points, four assists and four steals.
Mount Holyoke was led by sophomore guard Erin Cain (Quincy, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) , who totaled 14 points, six rebounds and four steals. The Lyons also received a solid performance from classmate Jess Olson (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland) , who finished with eight points and a game-best eight boards from the forward position. Junior guard Katie Austen (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) rounded things out with 11 points for the hosts, who shot 41.4% (12-29) from the floor.
The game went back-and-forth over the first 12 minutes with neither team leading by more than four points. A pair of free throws by Olson put Mount Holyoke in front 20-18 at the 8:16 mark of the first half. Amherst responded with a 15-0 run over the next six minutes to gain control of things. Daigneault led the charge, scoring seven over her 11 points during that stretch.
A layup by Austen sliced the deficit to ten points (33-23) with just under a minute remaining in the opening frame, but a three-pointer by junior guard Stacy Brossy (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou) gave the Lord Jeffs a 36-23 halftime advantage.
From there, Amherst rolled, oustscoring the Lyons 44-17 after the break. Reiff netted 11 of her points in the second half, while Swenson scored ten on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. The Lord Jeffs finished the game on a 62-20 run after trailing by a pair midway through the first half.
Mount Holyoke (0-3, 0-0 NEWMAC) will return to action next Tuesday, when it travels to Elms College for an out-of-league contest tipping off at 7:30 p.m. Amherst (3-0, 0-0 NESCAC) will also take the court again on Tuesday, as it opens up a three-game homestand versus Keene State College at 5:30 p.m.
Game Statistics