| Marcia Voigt and Amherst
seized control of the NESCAC race by beating
Tufts. Amherst athletics file photo |
It wasn't pretty but it counts, and likely for a lot. No. 4 Amherst held off No. 5 Tufts 54-48 in the only regular season meeting of the unbeaten conference foes.
Savannah Holness hit a layup at the midway point of the second half to give Amherst a two-point lead and the Lord Jeffs made it stand up. After Amherst built the lead to eight, the Jumbos whittled it down to three, but they could not pull even.
Megan Robertson led the Lord Jeffs with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. Marcia Voigt added 13 points. Kate Barnosky scored 15 for the Jumbos. The NESCAC does not play a double round-robin so this is the only regular season game between these teams.
No. 1 DePauw secured home court advantage through the NCAC playoffs. The Tigers pummeled Hiram 91-46 to clinch their second conference title since joining the NCAC last year.
Wheaton (Ill.) defeated Illinois Wesleyan 75-67 to sweep the regular season series. The Thunder's Brooke Olson and Breanna Bohlen combined for 54 points and 19 rebounds in 76 minutes of action.
King's knocked off No. 25 FDU-Florham 66-45 and ended the Devils' bid for an undefeated run through the MAC Freedom. The Monarchs trail FDU-Florham by one game with the teams splitting the regular season matchups.
UW-Oshkosh jumped out to a 17-point lead at UW-Superior in the first half, but the Yellowjackets came all the way to beat the Titans 66-58. Connie Urmanksi had 18 points for UW-Superior which is a half-game behind idle UW-Whitewater for first place in the WIAC.
Marymount only scored 42 points and needed overtime to do it. Fortunately for the Saints, Mary Washington only scored 38, so Marymount beat the Eagles in an incredibly low scoring overtime game. The teams finished regulation tied at 34.
On paper No. 14 Southern Maine's home tilt against Keene State (7-13, 2-8) should have been a blowout. In reality it was a nail biter. Keene State rallied from a 12-point deficit to briefly take the lead on the Huskies, but Haley Jorden's jumper tied the game and Erin McNamara's free throws with 14 seconds left won it, 58-56.
Transylvania got tripped up at home against Rose-Hulman, 59-58, allowing Franklin to draw within one game in the HCAC race. The Grizzlies edged Manchester 44-42.