WILLIMANTIC, Conn. --  Junior forward Megan Robertson and freshman forward Hannah Peterson each scored three points in a six-point Amherst College run in the final minutes as the Jeffs were finally able to shake free for a 58-44 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University in a non-conference women's basketball game Thursday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

At right: Freshman Lexis Foster battles inside in the first half of Thursday's non-conference loss. (Photo by Liam Murphy)

Ranked No. 4 nationally, Amherst (6-0) never trailed after the opening bucket but Eastern (4-3) whittled an 18-point first-half deficit to six early in the second half  and only trailed by eight before Robertson hit a free throw, then grabbed an offensive rebound and swished a jumper to make it 51-40 with just over five minutes left.  Robertson, a 6-foot-2 inch pre-season junior All-America then rebounded an Eastern miss and Amherst grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds on the other end – one by Robertson  -- to set up Peterson's three-point field goal that pushed the Amherst lead to 14, 54-40, with four minutes left.

The Warriors converted half of their first eight field goal attempts to keep pace through the first seven minutes, but then missed nine of their next ten shots, two free throws, and commited two turnovers on their next 13 possessions as the visitors rode to their largest lead, 28-10, with six minutes left in the half.

While Eastern went cold, Amherst put together its 13-2 run over eight minutes that expanded its seven-point lead to 18. All six of the team's field goals in that stretch came in the paint, four of them on drives by freshman guard Jaimie Renner and two by Robertson.

Robertson and Renner combined for 37 of their team's points Robertson finished with game-highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds with two blocked shots and did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes before fouling out with 1:54 left. Renner followed with 18 points (5-of-8 from the floor, 8-of-9 from the foul line).

Eastern junior guard Danyelle Rodriguez (Willimantic), who led Eastern to Tuesday's win over Westfield State with two key three-pointers in the final minutes, led the Warriors with a season-high 14 points off the bench but was the team's only double-figure scorer. She was 6-for-8 from the floor and connected on two of the team's three three-pointers (on 12 attempts). Rodriguez outscored Amherst's entire bench, which got points from only one reserve.

Battling Robertson inside, six-foot freshman post player Lexis Foster (Groton) of Eastern grabbed a team-high eight rebounds off the bench in 20 minutes, four of them on the offensive glass and all but one of them coming in the second half. Foster's rebound total matched the entire total of Amherst's bench.

Eastern limited Amherst to only 26 second-half points but managed only 22 of its own.

Eastern hosts Rhode Island College in its Little East Conference opener Saturday at 2 p.m.