Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Undefeated Amherst College (19-0, 5-0) asserted their dominance in a 67-43 victory over the Williams College Ephs (12-7, 2-4) in a Little Three contest. After taking an early lead, Amherst extended it throughout the game while fighting off Williams's attempts to narrow the margin, cruising to the twenty-three-point win.
The visitors came out on their game; taking advantage of a slow start by Williams, Amherst jumped out to an 11-3 lead three and a half minutes into the contest with a three-pointer by Ali Doswell sandwiched between layups by Jaimie Renner.
The Ephs only made four shots in the first quarter, stifled by the strong Amherst defense, which forced eight turnovers and notched three blocks. Amherst led at the first break 24-9.
"We didn't get off to a good start, and against Amherst they make you pay right away," Williams head coach Pat Manning said afterwards. "They ran all over us in the first quarter, and that's what happens when you take bad shots and you don't execute."
The second quarter was kinder to the Ephs, and they went into the half with a burst of momentum thanks to a 9-2 run consisting of a three-pointer and layup by Devon Caveney, jumper by Kristin Fechtelkotter, and a layup followed by a block by Emily Peckham. However, the Ephs still trailed by 16 at the half, since Amherst had extended its lead to as high as 22 before the Ephs' final run.
At the half, Amherst had made over 50% of their shots from the field compared to Williams's 41.7%, and the Amherst defense had racked up 14 turnovers, including five steals, as well as six blocks.
Amherst reversed the Ephs' pre-halftime momentum, making up what Williams had gained by means of seven unanswered points to open the quarter, reestablishing a 25-pt lead which they then maintained through aggressive defense and spot-on accuracy from behind the arc when they could find the open shot. Treys by Meredith Doswell and Maeve McNamara helped keep Amherst's momentum going, while Madeline Eck knocked home a dagger from long distance in the final five seconds of the period to give her team a 61-31 lead, having outscored the Ephs 21-7 in the third quarter.
Williams made back some ground against Amherst's second team in the final period, cutting their deficit by seven points, but turnovers and strong Amherst defense continued to frustrate the Ephs to the end. On the game, Amherst made 28 of their 59 attempts (47.5%) and 7 of 19 three-pointers (36.8%), while Williams shot 40% from the field and 25% from long range. Each team finished with six blocks and were close to equal on the boards (33-26 in Amherst's favor), but the Ephs turned over the ball 30 times compared to their opponent's 20, handing Amherst 31 points off turnovers.
"Right now, Amherst is on another level than probably most teams in the country, and they were able to run off of our mistakes," Coach Manning said after the game. She also praised some of her bench players, citing good signs of development from underclassmen Emily Peckham and Lauren Vostal: "They really came forward and did some good things today."
Meredith Doswell notched a double-double with a game-high 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Madeline Eck, Jaimie Renner, and Ali Doswell were all also in double digits for Amherst. Devon Caveney led the Ephs with 12 points, aided by eight points apiece by forwards Kristin Fechtelkotter and Lydia Zaleski.
Amherst next faces Trinity College in Hartford on Saturday January 28, while Williams returns to action against Westfield State on January 30 at 7:00 in Chandler Gymnasium.
