BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Sophomore center Lem Atanga McCormick (Chicago, IL) posted a double-double with 25 points and ten rebounds to lead the top-ranked Amherst College women's basketball team to an 85-60 victory over host Bridgewater State College this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
McCormick, who was 7-for-12 from the floor and a perfect 10-for-10 at the line, also recorded five blocks for the Lady Jeffs who remain unbeaten on the season with a 22-0 record. Amherst is ranked first nationally in both the USA Today and D3hoops.com Division III polls.
Bridgewater State, who falls to 12-9 on the season, are just the fifth team this season to score 60 or more points against the Lady Jeffs. Amherst entered the contest allowing only 47.7 points a game.
Bridgewater was led was by junior guard Brittney Chappron (Braintree, MA) who scored 17 points to go along with a pair of rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Michaela Johnson (Riverside, RI) also finished in double-figures with 13 points, while freshman forward Michaela Cosby (Walpole, MA) added eight points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
In addition to McCormick, Amherst also received double-digit point performances from sophomore guard Caroline Stedman (Walpole, MA), junior forward Sarah Leyman (Cincinnati, OH) and junior guard Kristyn Dunleavy (East Setauket, NY). Stedman tallied 12 points, seven boards and four steals, while Leyman notched 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Dunleavy added 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Amherst took control of the game early as they jumped out to a 22-4 lead over the first 9 1/2 minutes. The Lady Jeffs took 38-23 advantage into the intermission. Bridgewater got to within 12 points on four different occasions in the second half but could not get any closer. Amherst led by as many as 28 points (75-47) before settling for the 85-60 victory.
The Lady Jeffs shot 46% from the floor for the game and out-rebounded the Bears by a margin of 51 to 31. Amherst also blocked ten shots and finished 18 of 19 (95%) from the free throw line. The Lady Jeffs bench outscored the Bridgewater bench, 47-8. Bridgewater connected on just 17 of 61 field goal attempts (28%), but did however knock down 21 of 29 (72%) shots from the charity stripe.
The game marked the first meeting of the two teams in 22 years. The last time Amherst and Bridgewater State went head-to-head was in 1988 when the Lady Jeffs posted a 62-60 victory out in Amherst. The only other meeting was an 80-35 Bridgewater State win at BSC's Kelly Gymnasium in 1987.