The Amherst College women’s basketball team started off its season strong, winning their first three consecutive games by significant margins.

In the seasonopener against Albertus Magnus, the purple and white took an early leap past their opponent, coming out of the first five minutes on an 11-0 run.

The first-half play was led by junior Marley Giddins, who scored 12 points within the first 10 minutes of play.
At halftime, the lead extended to 56-15, and Amherst switched up the lineup with some new faces. First-year J.J. Daniell stood out, going 3-3 from behind the arc to total nine points in her first collegiate game.

More standout play came from junior Ali Doswell, who led all scorers with 18 points, and from Jackie Nagle ’18, who totaled nine rebounds.

Hannah Hackley ’18 also dropped 12 points as well as being a force all over the court, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out two assists and snatching four Albertus Magnus passes. The score concluded at a whopping 97 to 39.

The purple and white continued the momentum into the next day when they took on Farmingdale State and came out with a 60-point score differential. Doswell again led all scorers with 15 points and sophomore Jenna Schumacher added a career-high 12 points.

In the last game before Thanksgiving break, the purple and white hosted NESCAC rival Wesleyan for a conference matchup in LeFrak Gymnasium.

Amherst kicked off the momentum with an 11-0 lead for the third game in a row, shutting down Wesleyan on the defensive end as well as finishing key shots on the offensive end.

The second and third quarters went much like the first half, and by the end of the third quarter, the score was 58-18. Nagle and Schumacher both pulled down five rebounds. Points were contributed by multiple players, including Doswell, Nagle, Haley Zwecker ’16 and first-year Meghan Sullivan.

The fourth quarter was much more of an even contest, but the lead Amherst had accumulated in the first three quarters allowed them to still finish the game with a 71-30 win. The victory marks the 113th consecutive LeFrak Gymnasium win for the purple and white. Doswell led scoring for the third game in a row with 17 and also took the crown for assists, totaling five in the matchup.

Amherst has two more non-conference games scheduled for this week. On Thursday, Dec. 3 they’ll travel to take on Eastern Connecticut State. The following Saturday, Dec. 5, they will host Bridgewater State for a 2 p.m. tipoff.