AMHERST, MASS. 11/19/13 – The Keene State College women's basketball team lost to fifth-ranked Amherst College 67-52 in a non-conference game played at LeFrank Gymnasium on Tuesday night. 

After struggling to find her shooting touch in the Owls' first two games, junior Christan Wojtas (Amherst, N.H.) scored a season high 18 points, hitting seven of her 10 shots from the field and knocking down four of her six three-point shots.

Keene State (1-2) dropped its second straight game.  Playing its season opener, Amherst (1-0) extends its home winning streak to 87 games.

The first half featured a very competitive contest as both teams exchanged baskets early and often. The Owls came out hot and jumped out to a 6-2 lead early but an 8-3 run from Amherst put the home team ahead, 10-9. The Jeffs maintained a small lead for the next several minutes until a three-pointer from Wojtas put Keene State back up.

The two-point lead was short-lived as a lay-up from Cheyenne Pritchard tied the game at 16-16. Following an Owls turnover, Pritchard went to the line and hit both foul shots as Amherst claimed the lead once again and never looked back.

A pair of Megan Robertson free throws at the 6:38 mark sparked an 11-4 Jeff run as they grabbed their largest lead of the first half, up nine. The junior forward added two more foul shots late in the period as the Jeffs entered the break ahead, 37-29.

Pritchard tallied a career-high 13 points by halftime on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from the line and Wojtas posted 11 for Keene State. The Jeffs held a decisive 18-7 edge in turnovers.  

Amherst carried the momentum into the second half and jumped out to a commanding 18-point lead while a stifling Jeff defense held Keene State without a field goal until the 6:43 mark.

Marley Giddins scored all of her team-high 14 points during the final 20 minutes of play as Amherst held a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. A lay-up from Giddins at the 5:52 mark gave the Jeffs its biggest lead of the game, up 58-39 as they cruised to their first win of the season.

Joining the sophomore guard in double-figures was Pritchard and Meredith Doswell with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Robertson grabbed nine boards to lead all Jeffs on the glass to go with three blocks.

Junior Courtney Roberts (Sutton, Mass.) had eight points and freshman Sarah Kober (Easthampton, Mass.) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the Owls. Freshman Stephanie D'Annolfo (Tyngsborough, Mass.) also had eight assists.

It doesn't get any easier for Keene State who travels to Gorham, Maine on Saturday to take on the 21st ranked Huskies of Southern Maine.

(Courtesy Amherst College Sports Information)