The team rang in the New Year in California with a disappointing loss to the University of Redlands, 58-49 on New Year's Eve. Junior guard Jenny Muller led the team with 18 points while Latham added another 17 points and nine rebounds from her forward position. Unfortunately, their offensive effort wasn't enough to quell the Bulldogs who were perfect on their nine attempts from the charity stripe, allowing them to build a hefty 10 point lead going into the second half.
After the squad's West Coast adventure, Amherst faced long-time rival Williams College in a close game, as the Ephs recovered from a 14-point halftime deficit to steal the win. Fortunately, the 54-49 loss did not count toward the NESCAC record. "It was a close game," said Morin, "but it ended up a heartbreaking loss." After an initial first-half surge, the Jeffs only shot 24 percent from the field in the second term and couldn't quite hold the Williams offense in the last few minutes of the game. Rookie forward Yasmine Harik, who has made an impressive showing in her first season for the Jeffs, paced the team with 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Stephanie Reiff added another 13 points and four boards.
The Jeffs gained two important wins with triumphs over Hamilton and Trinity Colleges. In the 63-53 win over non-conference foe Hamilton, the Jeffs shot a remarkable 70.8 percent in the first half, despite an early Hamilton lead.
The two teams continued to score back-and-forth until Amherst made a 13-0 run, sparked by a beautiful layup by Reiff. The Jeffs ended the half with successive baskets and two blocks from senior forward Julie Smith. Morin led the squad with 15 points and three assists, as Latham and Reiff each added eight points as well as six and five rebounds, respectively. Also helping the Jeffs were sophomore guard Shaina Pollack and Muller, who scored seven points apiece. Smith lead the defense with five blocks and Harik posted eight rebounds.
Leading the Jeffs from the bench, Reiff posted a striking career-high 29 points to catapult the Jeffs past Trinity, 71-58, in the team's first NESCAC victory. After an initial basket by Muller from Pollack within the first 23 seconds, the squad never trailed the Bantams and had a 10-point advantage at the break, 38-28. Though Trinity attempted a comeback, the Jeffs would never let them come within four points, holding the Bantams to 27.9 percent shooting. The last minute push was marked by a late 9-0 run in the second half as Muller notched five points and senior forward Ali Flato grabbed a steal and two assists. Senior co-captain Latham grabbed 10 boards and added six points for the Jeffs while Muller and Morin scored nine points and had four rebounds, respectively.
From that point on, the team alternated wins and losses. In a game against Little Three rival Wesleyan University, the Cardinals were able to take advantage of Amherst turnovers to take an early 7-0 lead; a lead that would never be surrendered. Although the score in the first half remained close, Wesleyan used a mid-half 7-0 run to give them a 38-26 advantage at the break. The Amherst offense pushed to bring the score within five points during the second half, but Wesleyan secured the victory with clutch foul shooting. Pacing the Jeffs were Muller and Reiff, each with 14 points. Morin grabbed a career-high seven boards and contributed eight points to the effort, while first-year forward Susannah Ludwig scored four points and posted a career-high five rebounds from the bench.
The Jeffs beat up on NESCAC foe Connecticut College with a 75-39 win, allowing 12 players to get into the game. The Amherst bench, which led the team in the last 15 minutes of the game, scored 36 points and grabbed 27 of the squad's 35 rebounds.
Last weekend the team faced Bowdoin and Colby Colleges in back-to-back games. After a disappointing 80-50 loss to Bowdoin, the Jeffs came back against the Mules, coming out on top 59-45. With strong scoring stints in the beginning of both halves, the team never allowed Colby to come within 14 points and outrebounded them 22-15. Reiff paced the Jeffs with 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds, while Pollack added another 13 points.
The Jeffs will play at Williams on Friday in a key NESCAC match-up.
"Our focus right now is finding a way to win on the road, we have some great games coming up and I have no doubt that we will win," said Morin. "Our strategy has been our defense, when we play great defense good things happen for us. We're just taking one game at a time, because in [the] NESCAC anything can happen."
NESCAC Notes
Bates College is again one of the teams to beat in the NESCAC. Currently holding a record of 5-1, the Bobcats have benefitted tremendously from the arrival of talented sophomore forward Matia Kostakis, who transferred from Amherst at the beginning of this year. The team's only loss comes from Williams, who is tied for second place in the conference with Bowdoin. Both teams are 4-1 in the conference. Middlebury also has potential to surprise the league. The Panthers are currently ranked sixth, but their overall record (12-6) shows that the squad is a force to be reckoned with.