But win it they did, and in grand fashion. Thanks to their 22-2 regular season record, the Jeffs earned the top seed in the tournament and the right to home-court advantage.With the Amherst crowd behind them, the women beat Bowdoin College on Saturday and Tufts University on Sunday to claim the conference title for the first time in program history.
Amherst’s win, which broke a seven-year title run by Bowdoin, also set a new program record for the most wins in a season (24). Even more importantly, the victory kept the Jeffs’ season going: led by seniors Stefanie Reiff, Anne-Claire Roesch and Shaina Pollack, the team has—also for the first time in program history—received a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“At the start of the season I knew we’d do better than we had in previous seasons, “ said tri-captain Pollack. “But I never would have predicted this kind of success. Sometimes I still have trouble believing it.”
The Jeffs’ first contest of the weekend, against Bowdoin looked scary on paper. While the first-seeded Jeffs had the better record, the fourth-seeded Polar Bears had history on their side. Not only was Bowdoin coming off seven straight NESCAC titles, but it had also edged Amherst in the teams’ only match-up of the regular season, 72-61.
None of that mattered on Saturday, however. Amherst dominated from start to finish, winning by 23 points. With the victory, the Jeffs moved on to the championship game, where they overcame a late surge by the Jumbos of Tufts to win, 59-53.
From the very first whistle in Saturday’s semifinal against Bowdoin it was clear that the Jeffs meant business. They employed the high defensive pressure and fast-paced game that has proven successful all season. Amherst quickly jumped out to an eight-point lead to open the contest. Though Amherst’s offense slowed after the initial run, the defense continued to hold off the opposing Polar Bears, who did not score a point until just over seven minutes of game-time had elapsed. In the first 7:12 of play, the Jeffs forced Bowdoin into five turnovers and surged to a 14-0 lead. Though Amherst retained its intensity throughout the rest of the half, Bowdoin was able to climb back in the contest thanks to a series of fouls by the Jeffs. Still, Amherst took an 11-point lead into the locker room.
The second half of play featured much of the same from the Jeffs. They continued to force turnovers and Bowdoin had to settle for long, contested shots. With about 13 minutes left in the game, the Jeffs started to pull away, increasing their lead to 20 points.
According to first-year center Sarah Leyman, the Jeffs approached the game like any other. “We didn’t have that different of a game plan,” she explained. “We approached this game knowing that we were the better team and were completely confident that we could win.” The team’s confidence proved well-placed; the 71-47 win was convincing and it earned them a ticket to the finals.
Tri-captain point guard Pollack led the Jeffs on offense with 18 points against the Polar Bears, making eight out of 10 attempts from the free-throw line. Fellow captains Reiff and Roesch tallied 16 and nine points, respectively. First-years Leyman and Jaclyn Daigneault boxed out their opponents and combined for 13 rebounds.
After the big win over Bowdoin, the prospect of a NESCAC Championship intensified. “[Head Coach] G.P. Gromacki had complete confidence that we were going to beat Bowdoin and go on to beat Tufts,” said Reiff. “He has always had confidence in us. As the season began and we went on to our 17-game streak, I really started to believe that the NESCAC Championship could be ours.”
The Jeffs didn’t have much time to recover between the two games, as they were slated to play Tufts the next day—arguably the biggest game of Amherst women’s basketball history. “We met as a team the night before [the finals] to go over game points and Tuft’s personnel,” said Leyman. “To refocus, we made sure we knew what was at stake, that is, school history. Of course there are always nerves, but again we know that when we play our game, no one can beat us.”
The first five minutes of play on Sunday exposed both teams’ nervousness, as the Jeffs took a narrow 7-6 lead. Amherst was able to settle down on offense, though, and soon increased its lead to nine after 10 minutes. Tufts kept it close, however, and Amherst held an eight-point lead at the break.
“Tufts scored the first basket of the game, but our team is very composed and we just battled back and took it to them in the first 10 minutes of the game,” explained Roesch. “The only reason we led the whole game was because of our defense—by making it even harder for Tufts to score, we held them off the entire game.”
The Jeffs maintained a similar lead for much of the second half. With less than 30 seconds to play, however, Tufts cut the lead to just three, following three straight Jumbos three-pointers. Thanks to confident foul-shooting, though, the Jeffs were able to hold on for a 59-53 win and the NESCAC title.
Pollack once again led the team in scoring with a career-high 22 points. Her performance in both games led to her being named NESCAC Player of the Week. Leyman also had an excellent game, scoring 14 points and pulling down nine rebounds.
“It was definitely a physically and mentally taxing weekend playing both Bowdoin and Tufts, but I think every player on our team really believed we would win,” said Roesch. “We played two very inspired games this weekend and that was definitely an element of our success.”