AMHERST — The Amherst College women’s basketball team advanced to their 12th straight Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 58-46 victory over SUNY Geneseo, Saturday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.
Amherst (25-3), the two-time defending national champions, were led by junior guards Madeline Eck, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Hannah Fox, who had 18 points and 9 rebounds.
Amherst will travel to face St. Thomas, Minn. (28-1) Friday night in St. Paul, Minn.
“Geneseo are a well-balanced team,” said Amherst College coach and Sunderland native G.P. Gromacki. “They’re well coached, really physical, and it took everything we had and every ounce of energy to come out of here with a win.”
Amherst went up 30-23 at halftime after a back and forth first half, where both teams held each other to minimal offense. The play of junior guard Fox late in the second quarter sparked an Amherst run that saw her finish the half with 10 points and the team with a seven point lead.
“It was nip and tuck,” Gromacki said. “Our shots weren’t falling. They were playing really good defense and then we just had a couple of breakout plays that kind of just extended the lead, making a cushion.”
The Mammoths started the third quarter on an offensive charge that saw the duo of Fox and Eck trade baskets. Ultimately, the Mammoths lead would hold 45-36 entering the fourth quarter. In the fourth, the tandem on Hannah Fox and Madeline Eck sealed the game for the Mammoths, capping off their nights with 18 points apiece, but not before pushing the Amherst lead to a comfortable margin.
“We both have the same goal in mind and that’s to every year win a national championship and keep this streak that we have now alive,” said Eck about her and Fox’s performances. “Our biggest goal is to get this team to reach that goal and we’re willing to do anything possible. If they need us to both drop 18 points, then we’re willing to do that for them.”
The Mammoths ended the game shooting 43 percent from the field and held Geneseo to just 27 percent. They forced 14 turnovers and limited the team to just three total assists.
The Knights were led by seniors McKenna Brooks, who scored 12 points and had 13 rebounds along with attempting 15 free throws in the contest, and Kelsey Poplawski, who scored 9 points. Brooks altered shots at the basket and anchored a Geneseo defense the refused to allow Amherst to pull away.
“We made it difficult on her,” said Gromacki on the play of Brooks. “She kept going to the foul line and only missing a couple of there at the end and it was just like ‘gosh, she never misses’ and that shows you what kind of player she is, she’ll find a way to score anyway.”