GLASSBORO, NJ --  It was business as usual Friday night at Esby Gymnasium for the once-beaten Amherst College women's basketball team, which marched into the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament with a decisive-enough 65-47 victory over stubborn Eastern Connecticut State University.

Ranked No. 4 nationally,  Amherst (27-1) did not roll over unranked Eastern (22-7) as it has over the majority of its opponents this year – it has won five games by more than 50 points and averages a +27.9 winning margin – but it scored the first five points and led by 22 after 17 minutes en route to its second victory this year over the Warriors.

Eastern, which lost on the road for the first time in nearly five weeks, outscored Amherst by two in the second half, cutting into Amherst's 20-point halftime lead with a 12-4 run over the first five minutes of the third quarter that made it a 12-point game (44-32). Just as quickly, however, Amherst shifted back into overdrive, stringing together nine straight points to restore its 20+ point lead (53-32) with two minutes left in the third.

With one exception, the Purple and White relied upon their starters throughout (no starter standing under 5-feet-8 inches tall), with six-foot-one inch sophomore Hannah Hackley sinking seven of ten field goals en route to a game-high 18 points. Junior Meredith Doswell, at 5-10, grabbed ten rebounds as Amherst proved be the rare team this year able to out-rebound Eastern (33-29).

The national leader in scoring defense (40.6 point allowed per game), Amherst neutralized Eastern's scoring, rebounding and passing weapons. Senior team scoring and rebounding leader Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, MA) was limited to ten points (2-of-11 from the floor) and five rebounds – well below her season averages; junior guard Jordyn Nappi (Southington) was held to 2-of-10 field goal shooting and seven points – half her scoring average; senior guard Victorial Pfohl (Trumbull) was unable to record an assist after averaging nearly four per game this year.

Senior forward Erin Brooks (Billerica, MA) closed out the most productive season of her career with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, giving her a season shooting percentage of 57.8.