Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Six-foot-one inch sophomore Courtney Resch had 16 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots and the Amherst College women's basketball team outscored Eastern Connecticut State University 17-4 in the third quarter to pull away for a 64-39 non-conference victory Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
Eastern (4-2) played evenly with Amherst (4-1) in the first quarter, and remained within relative striking distance after two quarters but fell out of contention by missing ten of 11 field goals and turning the ball over five times in the third as the Mammoths built an insurmountable 50-25 lead heading into the final quarter.
For the second straight year, Amherst entered the game ranked No. 1 in Division III. Last year, Eastern stunned the Mammoths, 70-67. This time, the Warriors never led but played the visitors to a 13-13 standstill in the opening minute of the second quarter until Resch sparked a run of nine straight Amherst points with a blocked shot and a three-point field goal that made it 22-13 three minutes into the quarter. Eastern sophomore guard Danielle O'Brien's (Rockland, MA) three-pointer stemmed the tide momentarily before Amherst pushed the lead to 14 in the final two minutes of the first half.
Playing its starting five throughout the third quarter, Eastern missed its first four shots, and after six-foot sophomore forward Anna Barry (Andover) connected in the paint, the Warriors commited two turnovers and missed a three-pointer before Barry swished two free throws midway through the quarter to make it 38-25. However, Amherst scored the final 12 points of the quarter, getting points from four different players, including five from Resch.
Senior guard Madeline Eck led three Amherst double-digit scorers with 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Hannah Fox added 11 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Barry led Eastern with eight points and two blocked shots while senior forward Mya Villard (Cromwell) was limited to 29 minutes. She had seven points and six rebounds. Freshman forward Aiyana Ward (Waterbury) came off the bench for five points and five rebounds.
Eastern faces Washington College Dec. 16 and Delaware Valley University Dec. 17 at Miami.
