With patience and perseverance, the Jeffs were able to bring about the win they deserved from Middlebury. The team now stands at 9-11 overall and 4-3 in the NESCAC. If the women continue improving as they have in the second half of the season, they will be well prepared for conference foes Tufts University and Bates College this coming weekend.
Despite outscoring Wesleyan in the second half, 32-21, Amherst could not quite recover from the 16-point halftime deficit and succumbed to the Cardinals in a close non-conference match, 58-53. The Jeffs began the game slowly, shooting just 25 percent in the first half while allowing Wesleyan to hit 56.5 percent of their shots. Coming back from the break composed and ready to play, the Amherst squad scored the first 10 points of the second half, narrowing the margin to six. Unfortunately, the Jeffs couldn't stop the Wesleyan offense, which quickly pushed the deficit back to 11 points.
The end of the game saw many players visit the charity stripe-both senior co-captain Krissy Morin and sophomore point guard Shaina Pollack hit clutch baskets, bringing the Jeffs within three. Although Wesleyan missed five freethrows down the stretch, Cardinal Kelly Bowman buried four in the final minutes of the game, securing the win for the team from Middleton, Conn. Amherst junior guard Jenny Muller paced the Jeffs with an impressive 15 points, three assists, one block and one steal. Also reaching double figures was Pollack, with 10, while Morin tallied eight of her own. On the defensive end, sophomore guard Stephanie Reiff and rookie forward Yasmine Harik both grabbed six rebounds, while Reiff also had two steals.
Archrival Williams proved too much for the Jeffs, who fell in a conference game on Friday, 77-63. With another slow-starting game, neither team was able to exert enough offensive power to take a secure lead. "We came out flat in that game," said Morin.
Though sloppy play ensued, the Ephs were able to take the reigns and never looked back after taking a 11-4 lead. Amherst fought back, however, with Muller and Reiff hitting important shots to bring the game within five points with only seven minutes remaining. But Williams bounced back to take a 36-26 lead into the break.
The second half saw Williams continuing to break open its lead, which extended to 17 points over the first seven minutes. Though the Jeffs cut the lead to 10 with two seven-point runs, their Eph foes continued to pace the game.
"Against Williams we just didn't play the way we're capable of playing," senior co-captain forward Katie Latham said. "We didn't do some of the little things, like box out or get stops when we needed them."
Unfortunately, the small things added up and Williams was able to secure its 11th-straight win against Amherst. Despite high scoring by the Jeffs-Pollack posted 17 points, while Reiff had 12 and Muller added another 10-the Jeffs have not beaten their Little Three rival since January 13, 2001, when they grabbed a 68-63 overtime victory in Williamstown. "We weren't patient enough on offense which caused us to break down a lot," said Latham. "You can't do that and be successful against good teams like Williams."
Sunday's game against Middlebury began the same way, as Amherst sloppily lost the ball 19 times during the first half. "In the first half of Middlebury we just didn't come to play," Latham said. "We weren't on the same page as a team; we weren't staying poised and running through our offense or playing defense as well as we know how to."
Middlebury took an early 9-5 lead due to careless Amherst possessions, but the Jeffs regained their composure as Morin hit a jumper and two free-throws, while Pollack netted a three-pointer to give Amherst a 12-11 lead in the middle of the first half. However, Middlebury went on a 20-9 run in only four minutes, securing the halftime lead at 31-23.
Amherst made few changes at the half, but came out of the break with a new intensity. "To come back in the Middlebury game was just a decision to play better defense," said Morin. "Besides the fact that it was our senior night, we really needed to win for a good seed in the playoffs."
The Jeffs turned up the heat, denying the Panthers on their last 10 possessions to secure the 58-50 upset. Morin and Muller each had 12-point games, while Morin added two steals and senior forward Julie Smith pilfered three. Reiff scored nine points, while senior Ali Flato grabbed nine rebounds.
The Jeffs hope to peak at the right time. After overcoming early losses, the team is now focusing on this week's tough games before going into the postseason. "We just need to focus on our strengths: defense and transition," said Morin. "Wesleyan and Williams were tough games that I think we should have won, but we will get them both in the playoffs."
With conference match-ups against Bates and Tufts this weekend, the Jeffs will have an opportunity to prove that they are ready forthe NESCAC playoffs. "We still want to work on taking our time more on offense and maintaining our composure in that sense," said Latham. "But generally I think we've continued to improve throughout the season and hopefully that will continue and help carry us as we head into the most important part of our season."
Amherst faces Bates College on the Bobcats' home court at 7 p.m. on Friday.
NESCAC Notes
Bates shares the number one spot with Williams and Bowdoin College in the NESCAC, each with 6-1 conference records. However, records will change and hearts will break as Bowdoin and Williams face off this Saturday. The two teams have overall tallies of 18-2 and 19-3, respectively. Wesleyan, who formerly shared the top spot with the other three, lost a close game in overtime to Bowdoin last Friday, 73-65. As five teams-Bates, Bowdoin, Williams, Wesleyan and Amherst-have continually dominated the leaguethe playoffs will be a battle of spirit and grit.