AMHERST — The top-ranked Amherst College women’s basketball team cruised by Regis, 65-37, Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Amherst (28-0) came out quickly, with Meredith Doswell scoring off the tip. Amherst led 9-0 when Regis called its first timeout with 7 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the first period.
Emma McCarthy made it 15-0 when she stole the ball and ran coast to coast, finishing with a layup as Regis called its second timeout with 3:32 left.
Regis cracked the scoreboard with 50 seconds left in the first, but Amherst’s Hannah Fox responded with a 3-pointer to finish the frame ahead 20-2.
Amherst’s dominance continued into the second period, outscoring Regis 24-11.
“Defense is kind of the hallmark of our play,” said freshman guard Madeline Eck. “We came out strong in the first half and we shut them down. We did a great job. I think offensively, we were sharing the ball, finding the right shots and being unselfish.”
Amherst went into halftime leading 44-13.
Regis opened the third with an 8-0 run, forcing Amherst to take its first timeout with 4:56 left. Jackie Nagle gave Amherst its first points on a layup with 3:35 remaining as AC went into the fourth with a 49-25 lead.
“That was intentional,” said Amherst coach G.P. Gromacki. “We just took the air out of the ball a little bit and were working on a couple of things, like our execution at the end of the shot clock. I thought we got good looks and a couple of them just didn’t fall.”
Amherst has the top-ranked defense in the NCAA tournament, allowing an average of 40 points per game. Sophomore guard Maeve McNamera said that the team goes through its matchups before every game to prepare for their opponents.
“This is something we’ve been working for since coming back from the Final Four last year and throughout the summer. The stakes are high,” she said. “We have a lot of good leadership throughout the team. I think everyone just came out confident. We were taking the right shots and working the ball around.”
McNamera finished with a team-high 11 points. Eck went four for eight from the field, with nine points and three rebounds. Meghan Sullivan, of Granby, had five points and five rebounds off the bench.
This is the 10th year Amherst has made it through to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“I think our team was really focused and brought a new level of intensity, right from the tip,” Gromacki said. “It was great to see it out there. They were ready for the NCAA tournament. We’ve been waiting for it all year and they didn’t disappoint.”
Amherst will play Mary Washington at 6 p.m. Saturday at LeFrak Gymnasium.