#2 AMHERST HOLDS ON FOR 72-61 WIN OVER SAINTS

BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College battled Amherst College for the full forty minutes, before falling in a 72-61 non-conference women's basketball game played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Tuesday night.  The Lord Jeffs, ranked 2nd in the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, improve to a perfect 4-0 with the win, while the host Saints drop to 2-5 on the season with the set-back.

Following an early lead by the Lord Jeffs, Emmanuel's rookie guard Sasha Puglisi (Cross River, N.Y.) came off the bench and buried a jumper from the top of the key to knot the game at 11-all, nearing the 12-minute mark of the first half.  After an Amherst jumper from Marley Giddins (Irvington, N.Y.), the two squads battled through a dry spell, with neither team hitting a bucket for over three minutes of action.

Sophomore guard Ali Doswell (Richmond, Va.) sunk a free throw for the Lord Jeffs at 5:52 and Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H.) hit a turn-around in the lane for the Saints to bring the spread to 17-15 with five and a half minutes remaining in the half.

The visitors then used the next four minutes to put together a 6-0 run, capped with a baseline three-ball from Doswell to bring the score to 23-15.  Puglisi would score on the break for the Saints and Bujnowski stuck a pair of freebies to cut the EC deficit to 23-19 with 40 seconds left in the half.

Sophomore guard Jaimie Renner (Newton, Mass.) hit two from the line for the Lord Jeffs and Bujnowski layed in a buzzer-beater at the opposite end for the Saints to set the score at 26-21 Amherst, at the break.

The Lord Jeffs entered the contest leading the nation with their 52.5% field goal shooting percentage. However, the Saints' defense pressured Amherst into just 30% shooting in the opening frame, holding the Lord Jeffs to six field goals (6-20 FG), their lowest scoring half of the season.

Bujnowski led the Saints with nine points at the break. Renner, Giddons and Doswell each hit for seven first-half points to lead the Jeffs.

The second half opened with two and a half minutes of scoreless play, before Giddins scored down low.  Amherst earned its first double-figure lead of the night when Hannah Peterson (Cambridge, Mass.) drained a deep three from the left wing with 12:20 on the clock, putting Amherst up 37-27.

Doswell buried consecutive three-pointers for the Lord Jeffs, putting the visitors up, 48-35, and forcing an Emmanuel full timeout with 8:50 remaining.  Three Amherst players picked up their fourth fouls and were forced to take a seat with eight minutes left to play.  The hosts were able to briefly capitalize, cutting the Amherst lead back into single digits at 53-45, following a post-move and free throw from Bujnowski, as the game neared the five-minute mark.

Puglisi stuck a three with four minutes left to make it an eight point game with the Saints trailing, 57-49.  A bench technical led to a pair of Lord Jeff free throws from Cheyenne Pritchard (Ames, Iowa) and the game was quickly stretched back into double-figures at 59-49 with three minutes to go.  Junior guard Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) connected on an and-one at 2:25, but a foul and a second bench technical led to four more freebies for the Lord Jeffs and the visitors stretched their lead out to 65-52.

Amherst scored 14 of its final 16 points from the free throw line and the Lord Jeffs pulled out the 72-61 win.  Amherst rebounded from its dismal first-half shooting effort to hit 12 of 24 (50%) from the field and 5 of 11 (45.5%) from three-point land in the second stanza.

Doswell led four Lord Jeffs in double-figures on the night with her 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.  Giddins posted a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 16 boards.  Peterson and Pritchard finished with 12 points apiece, with all 12 of Pritchard's points coming from the line.

Bujnowski led the Saints with 23 points, two shy of her career-high, and 12 rebounds.  Sophomore forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) netted a career-high 13 points, going 7-7 from the stripe.  Higgins posted a solid line of 10 points, nine rebounds and dished out a game-high six assists.  As a team, the Saints knocked down 23-29 from the free throw line.

Emmanuel plays again on Thursday, December 4th, when the Saints host the Vikings of Salem State University in a 5:30 PM tip.  Amherst is also back in action on Thursday, when the Lord Jeffs host Eastern Connecticut State University in a 5:30 PM start.