The New England matchup was a decisive victory that highlighted two key aspects of the Amherst strategy-rebounding and accuracy from the field.
The Jeff rebounders pulled down 60 rebounds, seriously outmatching the Pilgrims' contribution of 32 boards. This gave the Amherst offense the ball for much of the game and several Jeffs stepped up to the opportunity with double figure performances from the field.
Despite being down on the scoreboard for the first 14 minutes of play, the Amherst offense mounted a comeback on the shoulders of quad-captain Hallison Putnam '02, Shannon Russell '04 and quad-captain Sarah Walker '03. Putnam notched a career-high 21 points on a 7-for-12 night and Russell led the Jeffs with a flurry of scoring from behind the arc. Russell banked seven threes on the night to post a game-high 23 points. Walker, meanwhile, contributed on both sides of the equation, putting up 12 points and pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds.
The 76-55 win gave the Jeffs their first victory since they played Babson College on Jan. 10.
"When we won, everything seemed to come together," said Sarah Bergman '04. "We'd come so close to winning the previous games, so it felt really good to win this one."
"We were passing well and everyone contributed to the win," said Caitlin Farrell '04. "It felt very good."
The squad headed into Hartford, Conn. the next night to face down the Bantams in NESCAC play. But the Trinity team had plans for Amherst and Bantam Kate McCloskey spelled doom for the Jeffs with a 16-point, 19-rebound night, leading Trinity to the big conference win.
Walker was the high point on the Jeff box score, adding 18 points and 10 rebounds, both team highs. Caitlin Farrell '04 mustered 12 points and 10 boards, the only other Jeff to hit double figures in either category. The Jeffs outscored the Bantams 29-28 in the second half, but the comeback wasn't enough to overcome the 25-19 deficit that Amherst took into the locker room at halftime.
Amherst has four NESCAC games left on its regular season slate. On Friday night, the Jeffs will host the Wesleyan University Cardinals in what will become a pivotal game for the Amherst morale. The Cardinals stand at 12-7, with one win already coming from the Jeffs on Jan. 15.
The Jeffs think they're ready for the weekend games in front of their home crowd. "We're not sure exactly why we've struggled this season," said Farrell, "but we think we've fixed it. We're focusing on keeping it together and taking it all the way."
"We've been having focused practices this week," Bergman added. "Also, we've been on the road so much recently, it's good to be home."
The Jeffs have no shot at the Little III title following two Interterm losses to Williams College, but the Wesleyan game will set the tone for another conference tilt against Connecticut College on Saturday.
The following weekend will send the Amherst squad to Maine to visit Bowdoin and Colby Colleges to end the regular season.