Box Score Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. – A rough shooting performance doomed the State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (1-3), as top-ranked Amherst College (2-0) lived up to its ranking with a 64-39 win over the Hawks on the second and final day of the Amherst Tip-Off Tournament Sunday afternoon at DuFrak Gymnasium. Sophomore forward
Alex McCullough (Delmar, N.Y.) was named to the event's All-Tournament Team.
Amherst, the No. 1-ranked team in the D3hoops.com national poll, prevented the Hawk offense from creating any sort of scoring opportunity. New Paltz shot just 12-for-57 from the field (21.1 percent) and struggled from the line as well, going 13-for-25 (52.0 percent). The Lord Jeffs, on the other hand, prevailed as a result of a 19-for-39 performance from the floor (38.8 percent). The rebounding margin ended in a deadlock at 42-all.
New Paltz led just twice the entire game. Junior guard
Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) put the Hawks up, 4-3, with 17:07 left in the first half, and McCullough knocked down a free throw with 9:54 remaining in the first stanza to put New Paltz ahead, 9-8. Amherst, however, would go on an 18-2 run, which would take the Hawks out of the game the rest of the way. The Lord Jeffs held a 31-19 edge on the scoreboard heading into the break and built upon their first-half success with an 8-0 run to open the second period.
McCullough led the Hawks with nine points, while Irwin had eight points and five boards. Junior guard/forward
Bridget Grover (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) posted the game-high total in rebounds with eight, seeing 23 minutes of action coming off the bench.
For Amherst, Caroline Stedman led all players with 14 points and also chipped in six rebounds. Jasmine Hardy drained 11 points and dished out three assists coming off the bench, and Jackie Renner paced the Lord Jeffs on the glass with seven rebounds.
New Paltz takes a slight break from competition before kicking off conference play from Dec. 3-4 in North Country. The Hawks contest SUNY Plattsburgh at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, and take on SUNY Potsdam at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4.
