Matia Kostakis '08 works her way out of an Amherst trap.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Senior Stefanie Reiff (Hinsdale, Ill.) scored 22 points and senior Anne-Claire Roesch (Wesport, Conn.) added 17 to lead the red-hot Amherst College women's basketball team to a 78-69 NESCAC women's basketball victory over Bates College at Alumni Gymnasium on Saturday.

No. 22 Amherst runs its perfect record to 16-0 and 2-0 in conference play after last night's defeat of then-undefeated Tufts. Bates falls to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the NESCAC.

Meg Coffin '08 goes up for two of her 17 points.

Bates senior center Meg Coffin (Westford, Mass.) led the Bobcats with 17 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and five assists, tying her with senior Sarah Barton (Portsmouth, N.H.) for the team high. Junior Val Beckwith (Woburn, Mass.) added 14 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while sophomore Kellie Goodridge made a huge contribution with 11 points (on 4 of 5 shooting) and 6 rebounds. Sophomore Danielle Schaefers (Barrington, R.I.) scored 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting off the bench.



The Lord Jeffs led by two (30-28) after one half, as the two teams traded leads 11 times in the first 20 minutes. Roesch's three-pointer started Amherst on a 10-3 run to start the second half, for a nine-point advantage. Amherst built the lead as high as 14 (68-54) with 5:14 to play and held off a few brief Bates bids to get back into the game down the stretch. A layup by Coffin closed the gap to seven with 1:08 left to play, but Amherst hit 8 of 10 foul shots over the remainder of the game to keep the Lord Jeffs' lead comfortable.

Amherst knocked down 23 of 30 free throws, including 17-21 in the second half, while Bates struggled at the line for most of the night, ending the game 18 for 30 (.600). The Lord Jeffs were markedly more effective from behind the arc, making 5 of 12 (.417) compared to 3 of 16 (.188) for Bates.

Roesch grabbed 7 rebounds in addition to her 17 points. Samantha Swensen grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds and senior Shaina Pollack scored nine points and dished out six assists.

Bates will host Tufts on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m.; Amherst will play host to Middlebury on Friday at 7 p.m.

BOX SCORE: Amherst 78, Bates 69