AMHERST, Mass. - Megan Robertson and Marley Giddins recorded double-doubles to lead the fourth-ranked Amherst women's basketball team to an 86-73 win over Bridgewater State on Thursday at LeFrak Gymnasium.
With the win, the Jeffs (8-0) extended their home winning streak to 92 straight games, dropping Bridgewater State to 5-3 overall.
The Jeffs held a two-point lead at halftime, 41-39, but pulled away late in regulation to grab the double-digit win.
Giddins scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers and pulled in 11 boards. She also dished out three assists and blocked three shots. Robertson added another double-double to her resume, recording 18 points with 14 rebounds while blocking four shots. The junior moved into eighth all-time in the Amherst women's basketball record books with 615 career rebounds and third in blocks with 150.
Two others scored in double figures for the Jeffs, Cheyenne Pritchard and Jaimie Rennerwith 15 and 12, respectively. Pritchard had a stellar day in Purple & White, recording career-highs in points and assists (6). The sophomore was also credited with four steals. She was 3-for-5 from downtown and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Hannah Peterson added seven points and grabbed a season-high seven boards. As a team, Amherst shot 58.3% from behind-the-arc and outscored the Bears bench, 30-to-7.
Four players notched double figures for Bridgewater State. Megan Boutilette was a force down low, tallying 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Boutilette, however, was forced to leave the game with an injury with just under 14 minutes remaining in the contest. Colleen Hanscom added 14 points while classmates Jenna Williamson and Elisha Homich added 11 each. Hanscom lead all Bears with nine rebounds while Williamson dished out a team-high four assists.
The first half featured strong play on both sides of the court as baskets were exchanged often. Amherst lead for most of the first 20 minutes and grabbed their largest lead of the half during a 5-0 run as Pritchard hit one from downtown followed by a lay-up from Giddins to give the Jeffs a 30-23 lead with 9:30 remaining before the break.
However, the Bears retaliated and went on a run of their own, scoring six straight points to cut the deficit to one following a Boutilette lay-up.
Amherst maintained its lead the rest of the way and entered the break ahead, 41-39. Despite being outscored 30-12 in the paint, the Jeffs shot 5-of-6 from three-point range to hold the advantage.
The home team came out hot to start the second half with a Peterson three followed by a lay-up from Robertson to give them a quick seven-point advantage, forcing a Bridgewater State timeout.
With just under 13 minutes remaining in regulation, Rachel Kusz completed a three-point play and Homich registered a lay-up on their next possession to tie the game at 53-53.
However, Amherst went on a 14-6 run over the next four minutes to take a 10-point lead and never looked back. The Jeffs took advantage of Boutilette's absence as the Bears shot just 34.7% (8-23) from the floor and gave up eight offensive boards over the last 13 ½ minutes.
Notes: With her 22 points, Boutilette increase her career scoring total to 931 points. Boutilette also moved into second place on the Bears' all-time rebounding list as she now has 710 boards in her career.