Courtesy Amherst Sports Information

Box Score

AMHERST, Mass. - Top-seeded Amherst College claimed the 2008 NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship on Sunday afternoon with a 59-53 victory over second-seeded Tufts. It is the first NESCAC crown for the Lord Jeffs in tournament history, and Amherst has earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history.

After five minutes of high-energy action, Amherst held a 7-6 lead on a great fast-break lay-up by first-year Jaci Daigneault (Guilford, Conn.). Senior tri-captain Shaina Pollack (Great Neck, N.Y.) led the break, and hit Daigneault with a pass to her back shoulder. The rookie made a great play to grab the ball and flip home a basket with a Jumbo defender closing in.

Amherst continued on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes of play, and held a comfortable 15-6 lead at the ten minute mark. Tufts snapped the Jeff spurt with a basket by senior Khalilah Ummah (Litchfield, Maine).

With just under six minutes to play in the half, Tufts’ Jenna Gomez (Norfolk, Mass.) buried a nice pull up jumper in the lane, but Pollack responded back for Amherst with a three to put the Jeffs up 24-13.

A Tufts lay-in just before time expired sent the teams to the locker room with Amherst up 29-21. Pollack finished the frame with 10 points to lead all players, while Ummah paced the Jumbos with nine points.

Tufts closed the gap to five points after just a few minutes of play in the second half. After three minutes of scoreless play by both teams, Amherst first-year Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, Ohio) put the Jeffs up 34-27.

The Amherst lead stayed at seven points until the eight minute mark, when Pollack drained her fourth triple of the day to put the Jeffs up 44-34. After a defensive stop, Leyman finished a tough three-point play the old fashioned way.

Tufts junior Kim Moynihan (West Hartford, Conn.) hit the first three of the day for Tufts with just 5:33 to play in regulation, cutting the lead to eight points. The Jumbos picked up a stop, before another Ummah hook shot cut the deficit to 47-41.

After an Amherst timeout, Ummah was fouled while shooting. The senior was starting to take over the game, and had 25 points with over four minutes to go. Pollack answered back for the Jeffs with a pull-up jumper.

The Lord Jeffs held a 52-44 lead with 1:24 to play, when Tufts went into hurry-up mode and started shooting contested threes. Amherst played tight perimeter defense and Leyman pulled down a defensive rebound and called a timeout. The Jumbos went into a full court press with 46.7 seconds to play.

After a pair of free throws by Reiff, Tufts drained a three and then forced a turnover in the Amherst backcourt. With 25.9 seconds remaining, Katie Tausanovitch (Lyme, N.H.) drilled another three to bring Tufts to within four points at 54-50. After starting the game 1-for-10 from long range, Tufts hit a pair of triples just nine seconds apart.

Pollack was quickly fouled, and made a pair at the line, only to have Tufts first-year Colleen Hart (Needham, Mass.) pull up and hit a three. Amherst made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to close out the win 59-53 as Tufts couldn’t find anymore magic from long range.

Pollack finished the day with 22 points to lead Amherst, while Ummah led the Jumbos with 25 points. Reiff and Leyman each finished in double-digits for the Jeffs with 13 and 14 points, respectively.

2008 NESCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, February 23 at Higher Seeds
at No. 1 Amherst 83, No. 8 Colby 53
at No. 2 Tufts 71, No. 7 Middlebury 60
at No. 3 Wesleyan 68, No. 6 Williams 49
at No. 4 Bowdoin 55, No. 5 Bates 51

Semifinals - Saturday, March 1 at Amherst
at No. 1 Amherst 71, No. 4 Bowdoin 47
No. 2 Tufts 67, vs. No. 3 Wesleyan 50

Championship - Sunday, March 2 at Amherst
at No. 1 Amherst 59, No. 2 Tufts 53