“We were pumped for the game. In hindsight, it was a great environment, the stands were packed and it was a hard-fought battle. Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way we wanted,” said tri-captain forward Yasmine Harik ’09 of the loss.
Throughout most of the first half of the contest against Tufts, the Jeffs maintained a small lead, forcing 18 Tufts turnovers and shooting more than twice as many free-throws as their opponents. Great defense allowed Amherst to take a six-point lead into halftime. The second half was a nail-biter as each team took turns going on scoring runs. Whenever Amherst seemed to be in control of the game, Tufts responded. With 1:55 left in the game, the score was tied 46-46. After missed shots by each team, rookie guard Kim Fiorentino drained a three-pointer to give Amherst a three-point lead with 48 seconds left on the clock. Tufts had one last chance to tie up the game, launching a buzzer-beating three-point shot that missed the mark, giving the Jeffs the win.
Sophomore forward Jaci Daigneault notched 23 points on the night, going 7-11 from the floor and knocking down nine of 10 free throws. First-year point guard Shannon Finucane added eight points, four assists and six rebounds in a well-rounded effort.
The first half of the conference finale, though a little messy, featured tons of energy from both squads. Despite 10 Amherst turnovers, the Jeffs trailed by only two points as the whistle blew to indicate halftime. The second half featured more of the same, and the Jeffs couldn’t seem to break through the Bowdoin defense. Though Amherst kept the game close until the end, it never held a lead in the final frame and missed a three-pointer that would have tied up the game as time ran out.
“For the most part, our defense was great against both Tufts and Bowdoin. We held two prolific offensive teams to under 50 points each,” said Harik. “Unfortunately, we struggled to put the ball in the basket too — our shots weren’t falling. And I guess, against Bowdoin, we missed one too many.”
Daigneault carried the team, scoring 22 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and blocking three shots. Though the Jeffs out-rebounded the Polar Bears, they also turned the ball over eight more times than their opponents and hit only one three-pointer.
Luckily, the Jeffs performed so well this season that, despite the loss, they received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and will host the first round, where they are slated to play Babson College. But if the Jeffs want to make it far in the national tournament, they need to do a better job on offense, running plays and hitting shots. Daigneault will need others to step up and score some points and the three-point shooters will need to be confident in their ability to score beyond the arc.
“It’s always good to play at home. Traveling is tiring and we love having home court advantage and hopefully we can get lots of fans to come out,” said center Sarah Leyman ’11 of the NCAA bid.