The Jeffs went into the tilt with the Polar Bears as the definitive underdogs. The Bowdoin team, ranked fourth in the nation in the latest poll, came into the game with a 6-1 league record and a chance to claim home court advantage for the conference tournament, which they clinched with a win over Trinity College the next day. The Jeffs, meanwhile, were fighting for postseason contention.
Bowdoin won, 72-53. But the game began very differently than it ended. Amherst caught the Bowdoin players on their heels in the opening minutes of the game and led by as many as six points early on. But, the Polar Bears took the lead back just before the half and ended the frame with a 27-26 lead over the Jeffs.
The Jeffs and the Polar Bears traded points to open up the second half, until Bowdoin opened up their lead over Amherst with a 15-0 run that began with 17 minutes left in regulation. The Polar Bear rally lasted almost five minutes, manifesting itself in a 47-31 Bowdoin advantage at the 12:41 mark. The Jeffs ended the run, but Bowdoin would extend its lead to 24 points before the night was over.
Kristi Royer, Bowdoin's main weapon, carried the night with 20 points and 12 rebounds. For Amherst, three players-Sarah Bergman '04, Marissa McGuire '04 and quad-captain Sarah Walker '03-posted double-doubles.
The next night, Amherst faced Colby, the same team that ended the Jeff postseason run in last year's NESCAC Tournament. Once again, the Jeffs started the game off strong, but lost the pace-and the game, 65-44-due to a second-half rally from their opponents. Amherst led their hosts 31-26 at the break, but couldn't finish things off in the second-half damage. "We were in both games up until halftime," said Bergman. "Then, in the second halves, we couldn't seem to hold onto the game. We didn't give up; we all played until the last buzzer and I'm proud of us for that."
The Jeff defense rejected the White Mule offense for the first three minutes of play, until two quick Colby buckets tied the score at 4-4. With the score 8-10 in favor of Colby later in the half, two White Mule blunders resulted in turnovers and a quick five points for Amherst. The score see-sawed for the rest of the half, much of which was played off of a full-court press from both teams. Amherst came out on top at the buzzer, scraping together a 31-26 lead for the locker room.
"It's too bad games aren't only twenty minutes long," said Diamond. "If they were, we'd be nearly undefeated on the season." The five-point Jeff halftime lead disintegrated under the pressure of a revitalized White Mule effort in the second half. Colby ended up outscoring Amherst 40-14, beginning with a 16-0 run after the Jeffs scored on their first possession. The White Mules never gave up the lead once they nabbed the edge on the scoreboard early on in the second half.
"This season has taught us a lot about being tough and getting through hard times," said Diamond, "Hopefully, next year we will remember how we feel right now, and make it a point to never feel this way again."
For Amherst, quad-captain Hallison Putnam '02 led her squad with 12 points against Colby in what would become her final game in an Amherst uniform.
"I can't say enough about Hallison and what she has meant to this basketball team and to Amherst athletics in general," said Diamond. Putnam, a four-year player, finished out her Jeff basketball career as a two-time captain, and contributed immensely to the program during her tenure. Putnam also excelled on the soccer field, and was named a Second Team All-NESCAC selection during the fall season.