Taking a winning streak into the conference tournament is vital to the mentality of NESCAC teams hoping for a shot at the conference championship. The women’s basketball team knew that a loss in either of their final two games would diminish their confidence at a time when confidence is essential. Yet Amherst took care of business, defeating archrival Williams College in a close game and blowing out Middlebury College by 22 points.
Rookie guard Kim Fiorentino said, “The wins helped set a positive tone for the team going into the tournament and added to our confidence. But we need to not dwell on this win, move on and stay focused for the upcoming games.”
Early this season when the Jeffs met the Williams Ephs, Amherst demolished its opponents by 30 points on the Ephs’ home court. But this time the Williams team came out ready to play in front of an unfriendly Amherst crowd. The teams appeared to be evenly matched throughout the first half with the Ephs maintaining an edge throughout most of the period. With 8:28 remaining in the stanza, Williams gained what would be its biggest lead of the match when they led by 11. The Jeffs were quick to respond, and the Ephs took just a one-point lead into the break. The second frame began much the same as the first with Williams leading the home team. But with just under five minutes left in the contest, the Jeffs tied up the game. Williams never lead again, and the Jeffs came away with a 66-61 victory.
“During the Williams game, there were certain points when we did not have the lead, but basketball is a game of runs, and all we needed was a run to get our confidence up,” said forward/center Lem Atanga-McCormick ’12. “With a few key baskets at crucial moments in the game, we were able to make that necessary run and lock down defensively. The combination of our steady offense and defense helped us get back into sync and eventually secure the win.”
Amherst had little time to relax, hopping on a bus to Vermont where the team would meet the Middlebury Panthers. The Jeffs controlled the game from the tip-off, never relinquishing the lead and taking a 17-point advantage into halftime. The lead allowed Amherst to give its starters some much-needed rest after a tough game the day before. The game ended in a 71-49 Amherst victory.
Though the two contests helped Amherst set the tone for the NESCAC tournament, the Jeffs still have certain things to work on if they want to be champions.
“To be successful in the tournament, we have to make sure we work hard at practice because the intensity in practice translates onto the game floor,” noted Atanga-McCormick. “Mentally, we have to be on the attack and eager to win a NESCAC championship, which all of us are.”
The Jeffs will look to forward/center Jaci Daigneault ’11 to lead the way on both offense and defense. Named conference player of the week for the past two weeks, the sophomore averages 11.6 points per game and grabs an average of 7.2 rebounds in each match. Daigneault will look to rookie guard Shannon Finucane to dish out the assists. The first-year averages 3.4 assists per game to lead the Jeffs.
As the second seed in the tournament, the Jeffs will host their quarterfinal match-up with Colby College. Though Colby has won only four games in the conference, the Jeffs were barely able to hang on for the win in the teams’ previous meeting.
“Turnovers hurt us a lot last time against Colby, so if we reduce them and play good defense I am sure we will put the game away earlier than last time we played,” said Fiorentino.