Hartford, Conn. – The Trinity College women's basketball team fell to Amherst, 72-38, in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action on Saturday afternoon inside Oosting Gymnasium on Ogrodnik Court. With the loss, the Bantams move to 6-11 on the year and 1-4 in league play, while the Lord Jeffs netted their third straight win to improve to 17-1 overall and 4-1 in conference tilts.

The story of the game was the three-point shooting and aggressive defense played by Amherst. The visitors knocked down eight shots from beyond the arc, while Trinity hit just one of their four attempts. On the defensive end, the Lord Jeffs caused 22 turnovers, recorded 14 steals, blocked eight shots and held the Bantams to just over 20 percent shooting from the field.

Trinity was led offensively by junior center Mackenzie Griffin (Stamford, Conn.) with her second consecutive double-double thanks to a game-high 15 points and 11 rebounds. Griffin did most of her damage on the afternoon from the free-throw line as she went 9-of-12 from the charity stripe. Junior guard Alexa Menard (Wallingford, Conn.) had one of her strongest games of the year for the Bantams, scoring eight points to go along with three boards and a pair of assists. Senior swing player Taylor Higgins (Merrick, N.Y.) added eight points as well for the hosts.

Amherst had a balanced offensive attack as six players scored seven or more points. Sophomore guard Ali Doswell led the charge for the Lord Jeffs with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting in just 19 minutes of action, while first-year guard Hannah Hackley poured in 12 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench. Junior Marley Giddins and first-year forward Jackie Nagle each reigstered eight points off the bench for Amherst.

Trinity came out of the gates charging, as Menard knocked down a trey on the Bantams first possession to give them an early 3-0 edge. Over the first 10 minutes of the game the conference foes went back and forth as a Menard jumper brought Trinity within two at 12-10 with nine and a half minutes left in the first half. From there, Amherst stretched their lead to 23 going into the half as they went on a 24-3 run to close out the first. Over the final nine minutes of the first half, the Lord Jeffs held the Bantams to just one field-goal made and forced four Trinity turnovers.

In the second half, Amherst held off an early Trinity flurry to maintain their advantage throughout the remainder of the contest.

Trinity returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 27, with a non-conference home game versus Rivier. The contest against the Raiders will close out the out-of-league slate for the Bantams and I scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.