The Amherst men and women gained automatic berths to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Amherst College women’s and men’s basketball teams are New England Small College Athletic Conference champions again.
The women (26-1) captured their fourth straight crown at home by defeating archrival Williams College 53-38 at LeFrak Gymnasium, avenging their only defeat.
Senior Marcia Voigt bounced back from a dreadful first half shooting (1 for 10) to score 19 of her 21 game-high points in the second.
The Jeffs pulled away by outscoring the Ephs 26-8 over the final 11:08.
Megan Robertson went 5 for 5 and scored 12 points to go with seven rebounds for Amherst, which earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Senior Bridget Crowley of Hampden recorded a team-high nine rebounds.
Williams (22-5) will still likely earn an at-large bid to the NCAA when the field is announced Monday at 2:30 p.m.
The Amherst men had a tougher time getting past Williams before snagging their second straight title in a 74-73 thriller in the first game at LeFrak.
Senior Allen Williamson came up with a game-saving block in the final seconds to preserve the victory for Amherst (25-2), which clinched an NCAA berth. Williams (23-4) is expected to receive an at-large bid when the field is announced Monday at 12:30 p.m.
The lead changed hands 14 times, with Amherst holding its largest (7 points) with 13:34 remaining in the first half.
In addition to his defensive work, Williamson scored a team-high 17 points and added five rebounds.
Senior Peter Kaasila scored 14 points and reached the 1,000-point mark with a layup in the second half.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Duquesne 53, UMass 44: The Dukes (20-6, 9-3 Atlantic 10) reached the 20-win mark by forcing the Minutewomen (3-24, 1-11) into 29 turnovers at the Mullins Center.
Senior Jasmine Watson recorded team highs of 10 points and seven rebounds for UMass, which lost its 11th straight.
MEN’S LACROSSE
Molloy 20, AIC 8: Host Molloy scored five unanswered goals in the first quarter of its opener to take command.
Nick Amendt and Jeff Sienkiewicz each notched two goals on five shots apiece for AIC. Sophomore midfielder Bobby Spano of West Springfield also had five shots.
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
Springfield hits season high: The visiting Pride finished with their highest score of 184.525 to finish second in a tri-meet with Division II host Southern Connecticut (188.70) and third-place Rhode Island College (171.65).
SC’s Lauren Pocius was second in the all around (37.10) and teammate Abby Clark third (35.60).
Brittany Baglow of Amherst did not compete on the beam but was in three events, delivering a 9.50 performance on the vault.