Box Score
Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - The second-ranked Amherst College women's basketball team opened up play at the 2009 Amherst Classic this evening against the Engineers of RPI. The Lord Jeffs improved to 5-0 on the year with a 74-36 win, while RPI fell to 1-3 on the season.

After RPI's Allison Connor (Hudson, NY) scored the game's first points on a three pointer, Amherst sophomore guard Shannon Finucane (Cortland, NY) responded with a three of her own. Classmate Caroline Stedman (Walpole, MA) found junior co-captain Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, OH) for a layup, before Amherst forced turnovers on four straight Engineer possessions. Despite the great defense, which included a pair of shot clock violations, Amherst was unable to expand on its 5-3 lead.

The two teams combined for 10 turnovers in the first 7:03 of the game, but Amherst was able to open up a 9-3 lead on a short jumper by sophomore Jackie Renner (Newton, MA) and a layup by junior co-captain Jaci Daigneault (Guilford, CT). With 11:30 to play Stedman hit a three from the left wing on a kick by Renner to put Amherst up 12-3.

Amherst's lead grew to 20-4 on threes by sophomore Lem Atanga McCormick (Chicago, IL) and junior Kristen Dunleavy (E. Setauket, NY) before RPI's second field goal of the half came on a Whitney Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) jumper with 8:42 to play. The Lord Jeffs held the Engineers 10:22 without a made field goal. Connor helped RPI close the gap to 23-11 on a three with just under four minutes remaining in the first half.

At the halftime break, Amherst held a 32-17 lead with Stedman leading ten scorers with seven points and three assists. Connor led all players with 10 points for RPI, including a trio to three pointers in the first half.

In less than seven minutes of second half play, Amherst built its lead up to 23 points as Leyman poked the ball away from an RPI player near midcourt and scooped it up to streak in for a layup. As the clock crept towards the midpoint of the season half, the Lord Jeffs broke the RPI full-court press with ease to set up Atanga McCormick for another score.

With 6:44 to play, Kim Fiorentino (Holmdel, NJ) found rookie Bridget Crowley (Hampden, MA) for a score to put Amherst up 60-25. At the 4:46 mark, Amherst fan favorite Livia Rizzo (Dover, MA) capped off a nice fast break to extend the lead to 65-29.

In the final minutes of the game, Amherst made a handful of free throws to close out a 74-36 win. Coleman led all players with 14 points for RPI on 5-for-21 shooting, while Connor added 12 points and six rebounds. Amherst's scoring was spread very evenly with Renner leading eight players with over six points with 13.

In day two of the Classic tomorrow, Amherst will face Baruch College at 2 p.m. before RPI faces Trinity College at 4 p.m.