AMHERST, Mass. – The Connecticut College women's basketball team dropped a 58-48 decision to Amherst College on Friday night in a NESCAC showdown at LeFrak Gymnasium.

The Camels trailed by two with 7:55 remaining in the game, but the Mammoths pulled away behind a 7-0 run and built the margin to double figures down the stretch. Kori Barach paced Amherst with 16 points and nine rebounds. 

Rebecca Oberman-Levine (Hamden, Conn.) finished with a game-high 19 points and added five boards, three steals and three blocks to lead the Camels. Mia Xerras (Charlotte, N.C.) also chipped in 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from downtown and tacked on three assists.

Both teams had trouble scoring in the opening quarter, but things picked up in the second. The Camels took their first lead at 10-8 on a jumper by Oberman-Levine in the paint, and later she gave the visitors their biggest lead with a three-pointer that bumped the margin to 14-10. 

Amherst reclaimed the lead behind three-pointers by Anna Tranum and Reeya Patel and went into the halftime intermission with a slim 22-21 advantage. In the third quarter, Xerras netted nine points and helped erase the deficit with back-to-back threes to put the Camels in front 27-25. 

Late in the third quarter, a steal by Oberman-Levine resulted in a fastbreak layup by Hayle Thompson (Maynard, Mass.), putting Conn on top 36-35. But three-pointers by Patel and Brooke Ingemi once again shifted momentum to the Mammoths, who led 41-37 heading into the final period.

Amherst never yielded the lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring Conn to the tune of 17-11. Oberman-Levine supplied nine points in the final stanza but couldn't rally the Camels back.

Conn College (5-15 overall, 0-7 NESCAC) will next play at Hamilton College on Sunday, February 4 at 1:00 p.m.