The Jeffs opened play in the 2009 Amherst Classic with a 74-36 win over the RPI Engineers. The game got off to a sloppy start after the teams combined for 10 turnovers within the first seven minutes of play, which also saw Amherst take a cramped 7-3 lead. The offense eventually came around, as a lay-up by junior co-captain Jaci Daigneault puts the Jeffs up 9-3, and consecutive threes by sophomores Caroline Stedman and Lem Atanga McCormick gave the Jeffs a 15-4 lead with 10 minutes left in the half. Following five quick points by junior Kristyn Dunleavy, the Engineers hit their second field goal of the half, after being held for over 10 minutes without one. Despite heading to the charity stripe 15 times during the opening half, RPI only managed 17 first-half points because they missed 11 of those free throws, as well as 15 of their 20 field goal attempts.
The Amherst lead blossomed to 34-18 on an offensive put-back by junior co-captain Sarah Leyman to start the second half, and ballooned to 54-22 on a three-pointer by sophomore Kim Fiorento, with less than 11 minutes to go. The Jeffs hit their free throws as the game came to a close, and managed to hold RPI to 19 points in the half on 5-22 shooting. Sophomore Jackie Renner led Amherst with 13 points, but every player on the team scored at least three points.
The following day, the Jeffs faced off against Baruch College and its star Kalea Davis, who had exploded for 24 points and 16 rebounds in Baruch’s previous game against Trinity. But the Jeffs proved too much to handle, as they pulled out another win, 79-59.
Amherst got out to a quick 10-6 lead after scores by Leyman, Stedman and sophomore Shannon Finucane. Then Leyman and McCormick took over, each starting the game three for three from the floor en route to an 18-7 lead and a Baruch timeout. Following the timeout, Baruch closed the gap to 20-14 with thirteen minutes to go in the half, before Amherst jumped back out 28-14 after a pair of threes from Dunleavy and first-year Marcia Voigt. Amherst went into the half with a 41-24 lead, with Stedman leading the charge with nine points.
The Bearcats came out shooting in the second half, and trimmed the lead all the way down to 53-47 with 11:21 to go. But that would be as close as they would get: Amherst’s two co-captains scored on a trip to the line by Leyman, and a lay-up by Daigneault to stretch the lead back to 61-50. At the 6:05 mark, Finucane splashed in a jumper, then swiped the ball from an opposing player and quickly called a timeout in the backcourt before Baruch could trap her. A few moments later, Stedman closed out the game with seven quick points which. Stedman finished with 18 points, while McCormick, Daigneault and Leyman also finished in double-digits. For their play in the two games, Caroline Stedman and Jackie Renner were named to the All-Tournament team, with Stedman also taking the tournament MVP.
In their third game, the Jeffs suited up for a rematch of the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round game against Emmanuel College, which they won last year 76-37 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. This year’s result wasn’t much different, as the second-ranked Jeffs rolled over seventeenth-ranked Emmanuel 85-38.
The Jeffs came out of the locker room on fire, starting the game 7-11, while holding Emmanuel to four free throws on the way to a 19-4 lead in the first seven minutes of play. The Jeffs would go on to shoot 21-32 from the floor in the first half, while stifling Emmanuel for more than 12 minutes without a field goal and holding them to an abysmal 3-30 shooting in the half. Amherst went into halftime with a 53-13 lead, and with six different players having scored at least eight points.
The story was much the same in the second half, as the Amherst margin reached 51 after a deuce by McCormick with 11:01 left to play. The biggest difference seemed to be Emmanuel’s offense, which finally showed up with 25 points on 10-26 shooting. McCormick paced Amherst with 14 points, but Finucane, Fiorentino and Stedman also got into double-digits, and every Amherst player scored.
Despite the early success, this Amherst squad is well-aware of the perils of complacency: “We know we have to fight for everything without thinking about our record,” said Leyman. “It’s also a new year and a different team so there is still a lot to prove.”
The Jeffs will next take on Eastern Connecticut State University this Thursday.