The No. 4 Amherst women’s basketball team posted big wins over Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), 65-47, and Rowan University, 78-57, to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III championship tournament.

In the first quarter of their Friday match-up against ECSU, Amherst took an early 18-10 lead, and then exploded in the second quarter with 22 points to go up 40-20.As a team, Amherst shot 48 percent from the court and snagged 33 rebounds.
Hannah Hackley ’18 led all players with 18 points while shooting 9-for-13 from the floor. Meredith Doswell ’17 provided support on both ends of the court and earned a double-double after scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The purple and white’s tough defense forced 20 ECSU turnovers and capitalized with 22 points off turnovers.

Strong defense from the purple and white neutralized ECSU’s scoring, rebounding and passing. ECSU’s leading scorer and rebounder, Jill Ritrosky, was held to just 10 points and five rebounds while shooting a mere 2-for-11 from the floor.
Amherst, the national leader in scoring defense, with 40.6 points allowed per game, limited multiple ECSU starters to well below their season averages.

The team followed up their decisive victory over ECSU with a gritty win against Rowan in the second round of the tournament. Rowan University took an early 4-2 lead, but Amherst took back the lead after a bucket from Meredith Doswell and a pair of free throws from First Team All-NESCAC guard Ali Doswell ’17, never relinquishing it again. With 1:33 left in the first quarter, Rowan got within four, but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the night.

Ali Doswell poured in a game-best 34 points to lead all players. Hackley and Haley Zwecker ’16 each scored 10 points to help Amherst’s dominate offense. Meredith Doswell snagged a game-high 16 rebounds. For Rowan, guard Anyssa Sanchez recorded a team-high 13 points.

The purple and white improved their record to 28-1 and will serve as one of four hosts this weekend for the NCAA Division III Championship sectionals at LeFrak Gymnasium.

On Friday, March 11, Amherst will play Stevens Institute of Technology (23-6) with the winner advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight on March 12.