On Thursday, Dec. 1, the Amherst women’s basketball team hosted Eastern Connecticut State. The game was part of the NESCAC’s “It’s on Us” week, in which teams across the conference promoted awareness about sexual assault and how to prevent it. Eastern Conn. State entered Thursday’s game with a 3-1 record and Amherst with an impressive 4-0. The home team started familiar faces including Ali and Meredith Doswell ’17, Madeline Eck ’20, Jamie Renner ’17 and Hannah Hackley ’18.
While Eastern Conn. State won the tip and put the first two points on the board, that was the only advantage they saw for the rest of the game. On the other end of the court Eck immediately evened the score with a steal followed by a three pointer by Ali Doswell put Amherst up 5-2 within less than a minute of play. Hackley had a stellar first quarter including a pair of threes and an impressive three-point play. At the end of the first quarter, Amherst almost doubled their opponent’s score, leading 30-16.
The second quarter went similarly, opening with a Renner steal and breakaway layup. Amherst went on a 10-0 run, forcing Eastern Conn. State to call a timeout less than three minutes into the quarter. First-year Cam Hendricks entered the game and hit two three pointers in her first minute of play. This, along with a three by Hannah Fox ’20, put Amherst up with a safe 57-24 lead at half.
In the third quarter, Eck added an impressive play, missing a jumper, but then getting her own rebound and putting it back up for two points. The team’s passing and teamwork could not be matched by Eastern Connecticut State and they ran away with the quarter leading 71-33 going into the last of four.
In the fourth quarter, almost every Amherst player saw time on the court, all making a positive impact. Eastern Conn. State only came to life slightly in these last 10 minutes, but in the end the final score showed 86-47 in favor of the home team.
On Saturday, Dec. 3, the team headed down to Ashland, Virginia to play Randolph-Macon. While the first quarter looked pretty even between the two teams, Renner hit a half court shot at the buzzer to put Amherst up 19-16 and set the tone for the rest of the game.
The purple and white scored the first eight points of the second quarter, increasing the team lead to 11. Hackley and Hendricks both hit threes, proving once again the team’s skill from behind the arc.
In the third, Ali Doswell overwhelmed Randolph-Macon’s defense and scored an impressive 12 points. Amherst held opponents to a mere 15 percent shooting percentage in the third quarter.
Ali Doswell had a team best 18 points while Meredith Doswell had a high of 11 rebounds to help the purple and white and pull away to an 83-59 win over Randolph-Macon.
Amherst returned to the court earlier this week when they faced Rhode Island College at home for a Monday night matchup. Ali Doswell continued to deliver offensively for the purple and white, netting a game-high 15 points and nine rebounds in the 80-25 rout of the Anchormen.
Amherst continued to show off their consistency from the field, shooting 42.4 percent and 39 percent from behind the arc. The team also demonstrated the depth of their bench, as 42 of their 80 points came off the bench and 12 players saw the court in total. McCarthy led all players off the bench as she scored 12 on 4-of-5 shooting, while JJ Daniell ’19 followed with nine points and pulled in six rebounds.
After an initial bucket by RIC, the purple and white went on a 16-0 run, keeping opponents scoreless until the 5:44 mark of the second quarter. The Amherst defense saw one of their best games to date, forcing 25 turnovers and holding a 49-21 advantage in rebounding.
The purple and white will be back on the court Tuesday, Dec. 13 on the road against Bridgewater State University. This will be the team’s last contest before the winter holiday — they will return to action for two games in southern California Dec. 28-29 as they face Chapman and Oneonta State.
