The Jeffs trounced St. Joseph's (N.Y.) 84-30 and move on to face Babson in Saturday's second round.
Megan Robertson paced Amherst with 15 points and nine rebounds Friday.AMHERST – The Amherst College women’s basketball team welcomed Saint Joseph’s (N.Y.) to the NCAA Division III tournament with an 84-30 send-off, thanks to solid all-around play from most of the roster Friday.
The Bears of Brooklyn became a full-time Division III squad just this season, but their taste of success didn’t last long.
Megan Robertson led Amherst with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Marcia Voigt chipped in with 12 points and four steals.
The Jeffs had 11 players score, and their depth is something coach G.P. Gromacki cherishes.
“We have so many good players that it’s hard to key on one," he said. “I think if you put some of our players on other teams, they would be dominant. We just have so many players that can spread the ball around."
The Jeffs got things started with a 12-0 opening run and headed into halftime with a comfortable 28-point lead.
Bears leading scorers Ashley McQuillan and Janine Doran led St. Joe’s with eight and five points, respectively. Amherst forced McQuillan into five first-half turnovers and seven overall. The Jeffs clogged the passing lanes and worked hard to keep their own lanes open, finishing with 23 assists to the Bears’ five.
Voigt felt Amherst came out with a sense of urgency and maintained a high intensity level throughout the game.
“Right from the start, we came out firing," she said. “We had a goal in mind and it came through. Our energy feeds off of each other and it’s to the point where it’s instinctive as to where each person is on the court."
One-touch passing helped the Jeffs tremendously, as solid ball movement kept St. Joseph’s from getting into any kind of defensive flow. Amherst finished the game shooting 50.8 percent, limiting the Bears to a lowly 20.8.
Gromacki noted that the coaching staff told the Jeffs to keep the ball moving and limit their dribbles. That kept the momentum in Amherst’s favor throughout. The Jeffs pushed the ball into the paint and exploited the Bears’ rebounding woes to the tune of a 48-25 advantage.
“If you get your inside game going, that’ll open up your outside game and that makes a big difference," Gromacki said.
The Jeffs didn’t disappoint there either, finishing 10 of 27 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Amherst moves on to face Babson Saturday at 8 p.m.