If the women on the Amherst basketball team have done anything this year, they have proven that they are worthy of respect. In recent years, the Jeffs have had average seasons, finishing more or less at .500, despite great talent and enthusiasm. Yet this season, there is a marked difference. The talent is there, the enthusiasm is there, and the fans are certainly there. Perhaps it is the fresh breath of air that the precocious rookies have brought to the team. Perhaps it is the co-leadership of captains junior Krissy Morin and senior Kate Herlihy. Whatever the Jeffs are doing differently, it is working.

The team narrowly fell to Bowdoin College, the nation's number-one team, on Friday night, by a score of 65-62. Using the momentum of the near upset, the women downed Colby College the next afternoon, 70-60. With confidence, the Jeffs will enter the end of the season demanding respect.

Despite being the best team in the country, Bowdoin was unable to hold onto a lead in the early minutes of Friday's game­-the lead changed hands at least seven times before the Polar Bears went on a 7-0 run with three minutes remaining in the half. The determined Jeff squad, unwilling to let the Polar Bears take control, notched a 6-0 stretch of their own, capped by sophomore Jenny Muller's three-pointer. The result of this back-and-forth action was a 30-29 Bowdoin edge at intermission, making it clear that Amherst would not fall as easily as Bowdoin had imagined.

The second half followed much like the first, with both teams battling for possession and the lead. Although the Polar Bears gained an early advantage, within minutes the Jeffs came back to regain a one-point lead, as Morin hit a chip-shot. Bowdoin answered with a strong push, once again gaining the lead and this time never relinquishing.

With 15 seconds remaining in the game, the Jeffs found themselves down 63-60, while the Polar Bears had possession of the ball. First-year point guard Shaina Pollack stole the pill, only to miss a