Amherst Advances to Second Round with 78-32 Win over Becker

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Amherst College women's basketball team had little trouble with Becker College as the Lord Jeffs advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament with a convincing 78-32 victory this evening from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

With the win, Amherst improves to 26-2 as they move on to the second round to take on Bowdoin College tomorrow at 5 PM. Bowdoin knocked off host Bridgewater State, 64-49, in their first round match-up.  Becker, the North Atlantic Conference champions, wraps up the 2007-2008 campaign with a record of 18-11.

Amherst led 43-18 at the half and their biggest lead of the game was the final score of 78-32.  The Lord Jeffs had just one player on the floor for more than 20 minutes and no starters played more than 18.  Amherst dominated play throughout as they limited Becker to just 15% shooting (7-for-46) and out-rebounded Hawks by a margin of 47-25. The Lord Jeffs on the other hand connected on 49% (30-for-61) of their field goal attempts including 7 of 18 from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, NY) paced three Amherst players in double-figures as she scored 11 points.  Senior forward Anne-Claire Roesch (Westport, CT) also finished with 10 points for the Lord Jeffs, while freshman forward Jaclyn Daigneault (Guilford, CT) added 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Senior guard Kristin Karat (Enfield, CT) and junior center Beth Pion (Enfield, CT) led the way for Becker with 11 points apiece.  Karat finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.  In fact 16 of the Hawks' 32 points came from the charity stripe.