SAINTS FALL TO NO. 4 AMHERST, 77-56

AMHERST, Mass. – Four Lord Jeffs posted double-digit scoring performances as the No. 4 ranked Amherst College women's basketball team defeated Emmanuel College, 77-56 on Tuesday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.  With the win, Amherst remains unbeaten on the year at 5-0.  The Jeffs have now won seven-straight against the Saints, dating back to the 2008-09 season and have extended their home unbeaten streak to 89 consecutive games.  Emmanuel falls to 4-3 overall with the loss.

The Jeffs opened Tuesday's non-conference matchup on a 6-0 run within the first three minutes and hit eight of their first 11 field goals to start the game, setting the tone early.  At the 12:54 mark, Hannah Peterson made a great cut to the basket and dished it off to Megan Robertson, as the forward drove to the paint for the layup, putting Amherst ahead, 16-9.

Shortly after, the Jeffs added to the margin as Robertson received a pass from Marley Giddins for an easy lay-up followed by a three-pointer from Jaimie Renner to force Emmanuel to call its first timeout of the game.

Amherst went on a 26-6 run in the final minutes and entered the break with a commanding 46-22 lead.

The Jeffs shot 53.6% (15-for-28) in the first half and went 6-of-7 from downtown, holding the Saints to a 32.1 field goal percentage. Amherst forced 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes and capitalized on Emmanuel's mistakes, scoring 16 points off turnovers compared to their opponents' zero. Robertson led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, pulling in seven rebounds as well.

Within the first 35 seconds of the second half, Peterson gave Amherst its largest lead of the game as she hit one from downtown to give the Jeffs a 27-point advantage.

Amherst maintained its decisive lead for the next couple minutes until a jumper from Emmanuel's Vanessa Bramante at the 14:27 mark sparked a 13-0 Saints' run. Just under three minutes later, a lay-up from rookie forward Alexis Ezell cut the deficit to 14 as the Saints continued to charge.

However, the margin was too much to overcome as the Jeffs pulled away with the 77-56 win.

Robertson posted a team-high 16 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to earn the double-double. Peterson scored a season-high 14 points while Giddins and Renner registered 13 and 11, respectively. Haley Zwecker tied a career-high with six assists, as the Jeffs finished 23-of-45 from the floor.

Leading the way for the Saints was Ezell who led all scorers with 17 points while Lena Negri tallied 12 and pulled in eight boards. Britni Mikulanecz was a force on defense with six steals.

Amherst returns to the court on Thursday, Dec. 5 and will head to Eastern Connecticut State for a 7 p.m. contest.  The Saints are also back in action this Thursday night, when they travel to Salem State University for a non-conference match-up with the Vikings.

- Courtesy of Amherst College Sports Information