Amherst, Mass. – The top-ranked Amherst College women's basketball team led from start to finish, pulling away early en route to an 88-49 win over visiting Clark University at LeFrak Gymnasium on Saturday evening.

The victory is the fourth straight in the series for Amherst, while the Jeffs also stretched their home winning streak to 31 games. The last time the Cougars defeated Amherst came via a 59-43 result in the 2005-06 season.

Amherst senior co-captains Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Jaci Daigneault (Guilford, Conn.) each scored six points early in the game to help the Lord Jeffs jump out to a 16-4 lead with 14:44 to play.

Classmate Kristyn Dunleavy (East Setauket, N.Y.) got into the scoring mix as soon as she came off the bench, draining a triple on her first touch.

Just before the midpoint of the half, Amherst junior Lem Atanga McCormick (Chicago, Ill.) came into the game for her first appearance of the year after an early season injury. Atanga McCormick hit a three on her first possession of the year, putting the Jeffs up 26-8. Before the game was over, Atanga McCormick had poured in 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in only 15 minutes of action.

Late in the first half, Clark turned in a 5-0 scoring run with a three from Maggie Croft (East Aurora, N.Y.) and a pair of free throws by Lily Colley (Wells, Maine). The spurt closed the gap to 33-18 with 6:04 remaining in the half.

Amherst responded though, closing out the first half on a 15-7 run. At the half, Daigneault led all players with 11 points as the Jeffs held a 48-25 lead.

Amherst started the second half right where it left off, running out to a 19-5 scoring run over the first eight minutes.  Amherst's lead grew as large as 40 in the middle of the half, before closing out the win 88-49.

Daigneault led all players with 17 points on 8-for-12 shooting, while adding seven rebounds. Leyman finished the night with 10 rebounds and seven points. Shannon Finucane (Cortland, N.Y.) dished out six assists, while Dunleavy scored 11 points in the win as well.

Clark was paced offensively by 11 points from Megan Grondin (Cumberland, Maine) and 10 points by Emily Reilly (Marlborough, Mass.).

The Cougars return to the court on Tuesday when they open NEWMAC play with a road trip to Wellesley College.

Release Courtesy Of Amherst College Sports Information